I Dreamed A Dream
by AlternateMirai
Summary: We thought we weren't free, we were. We thought we were strong, we weren't. We thought we could run away from the world, it followed. An ASL and Whitebeard AU. Rating may change to M.
1. Saved

**Please Read before continuing!**

 **-Ace, Sabo and Luffy are the same age. All three are 10 years old where this story begins. I will inform you how old they are as they grow.**

 **-Luffy has not eaten the Gomu-Gomu no mi or any other devil fruit for that matter. He, along with his brothers will get devil fruits later in the story.**

 **-Luffy does not know about Ace's father.**

 **-Luffy does know about his own father.**

 **-Ace and Sabo do not know about Luffy's father.**

 **-Sabo is the youngest of the three, but only by a fey months.**

* * *

 **Ace, Luffy, Sabo: 10 years old**

Luffy ran a hand over his bandaged eye for the thousandth time that day. All they wanted was to be free, what was so wrong with that? It seemed the whole universe was against them. Sabo was a caged bird, once free but captured again by the very people that were supposed to love him. Most would think that he had it all, family, money, power. But he didn't, he didn't have the one thing that all humans run on... Love. He lived for so long without that, that's why he ran away, left his 'home'. It was the best choice he ever made, that's how he meet Ace, that's how he meet him. But when he was finally happy the world got in the way. Sabo's family took him right back, -no, he went back himself, to save his sorry brothers asses.

Damn it! Luffy put curled up on the cold wood floor. Why couldn't he protect them!? Why was he so weak!?

Ace was an abused kitten. For whatever reason something changed him. What could have been an innocent child was turned into a untrusting, and almost suicidal boy. When Ace meet Sabo he finally found something to protect, when he meet him it just added to that, because Ace was the oldest brother. That's why he had to take care of them, help them, cover for them, right? NO! They took care of each other! If Ace continued thinking like that he would end up being the one that killed Ace, Because he was weak and couldn't protect his brothers. And that was exactly how Ace went missing. Fighting off Bluejam like that. If only he hadn't been injured by the bastard, if he wasn't the bandits wouldn't have taken him back, he could've helped Ace fight and by a miracle maybe defeat him, if not, dying with his brother was more then he could ask.

He himself wasn't much better then the two. He grew up knowing his existence was a sin, he just tried not to think about it as of later. Before Shanks came he hated his life, not knowing what he wanted to do with it. When he meet Shanks he found something to reach for, an ambition, a reason to keep living. When he was dumped with Dadan he came across Ace and Sabo, now his sworn brothers. They did everything together, never left each-others sides. Until Sabo's parents took him back. After that everything fell apart, they worked for Bluejam unknowingly aiding in the death of hundreds. After that was fire. He shivered. Not something he wanted to remember for a long time.

And after everything they did for him he was busy felling sorry for himself while they were either dead or dying, wither it was mentally or physically.

He jumped to his feet groaning afterwards when he felt an his injuries burn in protest at the fast movement. He ran out of the bandits house as silently as could. After he made it outside he raced to the Grey Terminal, only one thing on his mind; He was going to help Ace and Sabo! Suddenly he caught a glimpse of something sailing off in water. His eyes widened when the thing was in-fact a boat, that wasn't the shocking part though, the flag that waved on-top was what caught his eye. Sabo! That Was Sabo! He charged in that direction.

Finally, he arrived by the water. His expression turned to one of horror. The ship next to Sabo's shot his down. The ship was broken and burning, Sabo couldn't be seen. He jumped into the water, swimming as fast as he could. He was never a good swimmer, he regretted not trying hard enough before.

After what felt like a decade for Luffy, he found Sabo sinking to the ocean floor. He grabbed Sabo by his jacket and held him close to his chest, snatching his hat at the same time. He saved Sabo, now he needed to take him to Dadan's so he could find Ace and Dadan

* * *

Sabo groaned in pain as he sat up on the bed.

Wait, bed?

Last time he checked, he was on a boat, not a bed. He put a hand do his head surprised to see his arm wrapped in white bandages. What happened before? He remembered sailing away and then there was a fire and he was trying to put it out and the other ship... Shot at him... Oh.

Was he in heaven? Seemed a little to shabby.

"I see you finally woke up." He whirled around eyes wide.

"Dadan, you died too!?" He yelled. Said woman stared at him for a long moment before sighing.

"Your not dead, Sabo." She said.

Sabo blinked. He could tell that he wasn't dead, how else would he be feeling pain? But making fun of Dadan was something he just had to do. "No, no. I'm sure I'm dead." He said with an inward smirk.

"Your not dead." She repeated.

Oh this was going to be priceless. "How else would I be in hell?"

Dadan blinked. What? "First, you're not dead. Second were did you get the idea of being in hell?" She asked.

"You're here."

Dadan raised her eyebrows. She didn't get it, glorious. Suddenly her face turned red as a tomato and she glared at the blond. "You damn brat!" Sabo laughed out loud, that was great. Dadan made no movement to hit the boy, only yelled insults. Had it not been for the fact that the blond boy was injured, he would've been in for a hell of a beating.

After a few minuets of Sabo laughing his ass off and Dadan turning shades of red that were never seen before, they calmed down, and a tense atmosphere came upon them, and Sabo knew exactly why; he almost died, left his two brothers alone. There was no way they would take him dying well, they would both go and try to murder the one's that killed him -not that he was dead- and then end up dead themselves for attacking a celestial dragon. Yes he did recognize that ship; it was the one that people worse then his own parent's were on. "So, how'd I survive?" He asked with hidden guilt.

Dadan thought for a moment."...Luffy saved you when your ship was shot down by a Celestial Dragon's ship." She said with a firm voice. "You've been asleep for a week now."

His moth fell open. That long!? "Damn! Where are Ace and Luffy!?"

"Sleeping in the next room." She looked at the wall, indicating that they were in that room. "They've been really stressed lately, need a lot of sleep" No duh! Their little brother was taken away from them, said little brother almost died, and god knows if they were part of that fire, either way they suffered great loos and suffering from it.

"Oh." Was all he said on the outside. But he gave a look to Dadan that was asking her to tell him what happened after he left, hoping she understood.

She did. "They didn't come back after you left, so I don't know what happened in-between." He nodded in understanding. "They got stuck in they fire, don't ask why, I don't know." So they were part of that inferno of burning trash and flesh. "The Bluejam pirates attacked them, both were badly injured, Luffy almost lost his eye. We saved them, I stayed with Ace to fight, Luffy was taken back here. A few days after that Luffy saved you, brought you back, and then helped -dare I say saved- us."

Sabo gripped the white sheets that laid over him tightly. Damn it! He should have been there for them! He grit his teeth.

"They almost died in that blasted fire, you know." He looked at Dadan with pained eyes, she looked back at him with almost the same expression. "Bluejam almost killed 'em both."

"Where is he now?" He asked with an almost incoherent voice, shaking with rage.

Her frown depend in thought. "Don't know. Haven't seen him since. Hopefully dead." If was a high possibility that the m

"Yeah..."If not..." He didn't continue, he didn't need to, Dadan understood what he was thinking. The blond child looked up at her. "Can I go see them?"

"... Sure brat." She stood up, he followed her example, setting his bare feet on the cold wooden floor. They walked to the next room over and entered. Ace and Luffy were on the ground both curled up in fetal position, a surprise for Sabo as they were usually sprawled out. He walked over to Ace intending to wake him up. His process was interrupted by a growl from Ace.

Sabo listened closely after he thought he heard Ace say something, soon he heard it again. "...Damn it..." The raven boy was still asleep therefore he was sleep talking. Not long afterwards he heard something from Luffy too.

"... Shut up you bastard..." The sleeping boy said. "Can't breath..."

Ace turned to his other side, still in fetal position. "Don't die..." Sabo's heart clenched. He never heard his brothers sound so helpless. "... Hot..." Sabo felt anger, no, fury. His brothers were strong, that fire couldn't have done that much it was just a stupid fire, that they were stuck in, full of burning garbage... That they basically grew up with... And burning humans... And they were suck in it... Oh. Stuck in blazing heat, suffocating, smelt like burnt garbage and flesh, people screaming bloody murder all around, and then they were attacked by prates... Who wouldn't be traumatized? Even if they were monsters, that was a terrifying thing.

He felt guilty that he couldn't have helped them"Ace... Luffy..."

Dadan looked at the three boys with pity. "Shit. Those nightmares just haven't stopped."

Sabo shook the two raven haired brothers. "Wake up."

Said boys groaned and opened their eyes slowly -was opening their eyes slowly- their eyes shot open and they sat up quickly. "SABO!" They yelled.

Luffy put his face in-front of Sabo's face with a worried look. "You're awake! How are you feeling!? When did you wake up!?"

Ace did the exact same thing barraging Sabo with questions. "Are you okay!?

Sabo "Yeah I'm good! What about you?"

"Fine." Luffy and Ace answered simultaneously.

Sabo snickered. "Thanks for saving me Luffy." Luffy nodded with a small smile on his face.

Dadan smiled at the brothers. They inseparable. "Go back to sleep brats. You need rest." She told them.

Ace gave her a 'soft' glare. "Stupid"

Luffy rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Sabo just pouted. "Fine." But they complied and snuggled close to each-other.

* * *

It had been just one week after Sabo woke up and they were almost completely healed, and up-and-kicking. It was supposed to bee a good day, the bandits finally allowed them to leave the shack they called a house, but they already ran into trouble.

Ace kicked the air as he tried to free himself from a man's hold, a pirate for sure, probably a Bluejam pirate. "Let us fucking go!" He yelled.

His brothers were in a similar state, Sabo being held in one pirates arms like a sack of potato's, and Luffy was being pinned down to the dirt ground by another man. "Get the hell off of me!"

Sabo growled as he tried to bite the man that was holding him hand, but he just moved sabo to a more uncomfortable position where he couldn't hurt the pirate. "Leave us alone!"

Through the forest another man stepped out. Ace, Luffy and Sabo's eyes widened in fear when the shadows over the man cleared and revealed his face. It was unquestionably Bluejam himself. Said pirate captain gave a cold grin. "Knock them out." He said.

"Got it captain" The pirated holding them said in sync.

"You brats are going to make me rich." Was the last thing they heard before their world went black.

* * *

 **I'm really sorry for the short chapter. But I'll make up for that by updating soon (probably).**

 **Please review, tell me what you like and what's wrong with it.**

 **Also I need an idea for what Sabo's devil fruit is going to be! I already know for Ace and Luffy but for Sabo I just haven't decided yet, so please help!**


	2. Plans

**Thank you UnderTakerxXxMadnesS for reviewing!**

* * *

The three boys glared at Bluejam. That was the guy that started everything. And he was just standing in-front of them with his stupid face, while they couldn't move because they were tied to one of the the walls of the cold cell room. What they would do to be able to punch him in the face, or at least wipe the stupid smirk off his lips.

"Ya' brats seem to be doin' well." The man said.

"Yeah, just great thanks to you." Luffy returned with bitter sarcasm. Sure, they were fine, chained to a wall, beat to the ground every day, and hardly any food, just perfect. They could at least let them walk around instead of sitting there all day.

Bluejam's grin grew wider. "Good, because it's goin' to get a lot worse." They grit their teeth.

"Where are you taking us?" Ace asked. Wherever it was it didn't sound good. From the way Bluejam was always smirking at them, and all the mentions of it getting worse, like what he just said, it did not sound very exiting.

The pirate stared at them for a while, most likely trying to decide wither to tell them or not. That, or he just died, and they would finally be let go. "Well, since ya' can't do anythin' bout' it I'll tell ya'" What were the chances of that anyway. "We're sellin' ya' brats ta' slave traders, where you'll be sold again."

Time stopped for the brothers.

Sold... No, no, no. There was no way! They can't be sold! They were going to be pirates, not slaves! Nonononono, they needed to get out of there, fast! Out, out, out, out, out, out, OUT!

"Y-you're selling us?" Sabo asked, fearful of what was to come.

The brothers swore they could see the end of their lives the moment Bluejam's already huge grin stretch all the way to his eyes. He looked like a demon, no, he was a demon. Only a demon would sell children, only a demon would be so cruel. "That's right." He started walking towards the door. "And I'm going to be rich~ rich~ I'm going to be rich~!"

"Go to hell you fucking bastard! You're the slave to your god-damned money!" Luffy yelled at him. Bluejam paused and looked back at the boy with rage.

"what did you say brat." The pure ice in his voice sent shivers down their spines.

Luffy glared daggers. "Wow, I didn't know your head was so far up your ass that you couldn't hear. Let me repeat it for you." He took a large breath. "GO TO HELL YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Ace and Sabo tried to hold back their laughter but failed. It was just to funny. The laughs echoed through the room and all Bluejam saw was red. He stormed to Luffy and kicked him hard in the chest. Said boy fell to his knees gasping for breath. Ace and Sabo's laughter stopped abruptly.

"Luffy!" They cried out together. They rushed to their raven haired brother but only received the same fate as Luffy with a kick in the ribs, and fell to the ground clutching their stomachs. All three groaned in pain. The adults kick was harder then expected. They hoped that he would just leave after that, but he didn't, he continued beating the boys until they were close to passed out and Bluejam left them to their own thoughts bloody and bruised in the dark cell room. They would get away, they had to.

* * *

They didn't know how long they were in that room, lying on the floor. Minutes? Hours? Days? Whatever it was, they didn't care. They hadn't been feed at all since, either Bluejam decided not to feed them after that, or it really had only been minutes. Not that it mattered, they weren't hungry. They were busy thinking about their future, or rather, their lack of a future.

Luffy was just angry, angry that they were unable to defend themselves, that he couldn't protect his brothers. He was supposed to be strong! Just weeks before he was one of the strongest on the island, but suddenly that was all taken and he was useless, again.

Sabo was terrified. He knew more then his brothers about what life would be like as a slave. He had a slave before he ran away, of course he set the slave free, but his parents killed the guy. Luffy seemed to know more then Ace though.

Ace, surprisingly was the only one that was trying to think of a way out. He, however, couldn't think of anything for two reasons; one, he was not a planner, that was Sabo, every time it was Sabo that thought things through, he and Luffy were just muscle brained idiots. Two, he knew nothing about being a slave other then that he worked all day and that he was... well, a slave.

Ace sat up cross-legged with determination written all over his face. He needed help. "We're getting out." He said bluntly. Sabo and Luffy sat too and waited for him to continue. "Do either of you have an idea who we're going to be sold to." Both nodded.

"Celestial Dragons." Luffy answered. Ace cringed. Those were the guys that almost killed Sabo! He felt even more of a reason to want to kill them now. But it wasn't the time for that, he needed an idea.

"Right. Tell me about them." Ace waited but got no answer, just grim expressions. Was it really that bad? "Fine. Be like that and we'll just do nothing to save our freedom." He knew that would get them to say something about it, freedom had always been their soft spot, himself included.

"They are know as the 'world nobles'. Basically the same as the nobles back at Goa times one-hundred. They are complete bastards." Sabo informed. "After we're bought they'll brand us..."

"Shit."

"And then force us to work until we die." Ace was not happy about that at all.

"They'll only feed us a small loaf of bread a day, and they'll beat us if we do anything wrong. Doesn't sound much different then what's going on here, other then the work, but trust me, it's much worse." Luffy continued for Sabo.

Ace growled. "They could at least give us a decent meal if we're going to work for them. Its not like we live on just air"

"Exactly." Luffy said. "But if we die then they can just replace us." There was a moment of silence before Luffy started laughing. Ace and Sabo thought we went insane.

"What's wrong." Asked Sabo to Luffy.

Said boy quieted down and hid his face with his hands. "It's funny. We dreamed of being free and the world repaid us with being sold into slavery." The oldest and youngest understood what Luffy was saying exactly. They all though about it.

Ace hit Luffy on the head weakly, as he could hardly move due to the beating they got. "Idiot! Were not getting sold! We're getting out of here!" Luffy nodded. All three knew that none believed Ace's words completely, but trying was better then nothing.

"Sorry, I guess so..."

Sabo snapped his fingers to get the two black haired kids attention. "Alright, time to make a plan." The two grinned slightly and nodded. "So.. We're probably not going to leave this room until we're given to the slave traders."

Ace put a hand on his knee and leaned forward. "We could jump them when we're handed to them?"

Sabo nodded. "That would -could- work. But assuming it did, how would we get away?" Ace grinned.

"And that, my brother is why you're here."

* * *

 **Kay, so I finished, but it was really short AGAIN! I'm really sorry about that! But at least I updated fast, right? Yeah sorry...**

 **Anyway, please ideas for Sabo's devil fruit. And feel free to ask any questions.**

 **UnderTakerxXxmadnesS :** **Thanks for reading! It'll probably be a logia but I don't know for sure.**


	3. Good, Bad Day

**Okay, so i updated really fast, but its really short, again. Whatever.**

 **Thank you UnderTakerxXxMadnesS, KisumeKlovia, GreenDarkness and Guest for reviewing!**

* * *

Bluejam sighed as he sat down in his chair. Those brats were to much, always shouting insults, making plans to escape -not like they actually could-, and on top of everything, they tried a many of times to kick him right in-between the legs, and actually succeeded twice. Ace was the only one that hadn't managed yet, surprisingly. It didn't matter how many times he lashed out and pummeled them, they never gave up. It was overly exhausting. Just two more weeks, two more weeks, and they would be out of his hands and a large sum of money would replace them.

It was hard getting into contact with slave traders, took him almost a week, which was why he didn't kidnap the kids earlier. Everything was settled with 20,000 beri for each boy.

Looking at a small treasure box in-front of him he smiled. He had the best luck the world could offer. He opened the lid of the chest. Inside laid two strange fruits, One was a round bight orange color, with many flame-shaped components with swirl patterns on each one, the Mera-Mera No Mi. The other was shaped like a lightbulb with the stem sticking out of the larger part, it was a light grey and had raindrop shaped components with swirls on each facing downwards, the Yure-Yure No Mi. He closed the lid. He should probably feed the fruits to the boys soon, but he could do that later. There was no way he would eat the things himself, he was not so desperate that would give up being able to swim for a freaky power.

Soon one of the crew came running in. "Captin' look what was found!" Bluejam felt a want to punch the man for interrupting his peace, but decided against it.

"What." The man faltered slightly but carried on taking a chest out of his bag, he set it on the table. Bluejam opened it with well hidden curiosity. The curiosity was turned to shock and then amused. God was on his side, blessing him for all the 'good' he'd done.

"Dismissed." He told the pirate. Said pirate left the room quickly.

Inside was his third devil fruit. It was a light green and oddly shaped like a carrot. The swirls were flat against it. He didn't know which one it was, but then again he didn't know what the other two were until he checked. It seemed he had some work to do.

But first, he needed to make a call and raise the prices for the boys.

He was having a great day.

* * *

Sabo was having a terrible day.

First he woke up from a nightmare, one about his parents, right after they killed -or more like- had someone else kill the slave he set free. They were furious with him, they sent him to someone who would 'purify' his mind, those were some of the worst times of his life, being tortured into submission. God was he glad he ran away, even if he was going to be a slave, he got to meet Ace and Luffy after all.

After waking, some of the crew of the Bluejam pirates decided it would be nice to find out how far they could throw them into a barrel. So there he was, in the hands of one of the pirates bracing himself for another trip in the air and a crash back down to a barrel. Ace was already in a barrel, they were fetching him at that moment. After Ace was out it would be his turn. Luffy was behind him, also in a pirate hands, he would right after him.

Sabo wasn't sure which hurt more, them getting thrown to hard and hit the hard wall behind the barrel -usually it was his head that hit the wall- and have gravity drag him down to the ground, or getting thrown a little of course and hit the sharp metal head hoop in an awkward position, fall down, and then the barrel comes crashing down on them.

Before he knew it he was back in the air. The col wind actually felt pretty nice on his wounds, if only it would last longer, then he would enjoy it more. That's why it would be nice to be a bird, he always liked the wind in his face, maybe a horse? Or a monkey, those felt the wind when they jumped through the trees didn't they? Maybe not he didn't remember much of a breeze when he climbed through the trees back at Goa, probably because the trees held most of the wind back. Yeah, a bird would be the best. Maybe he could make something that could fly so he-

And he hit the edge of the barrel with his head. Definitely going to leave a really bad bruise there. And, like was mentioned before, he dropped to the floor with a resounding thud. With his oh so godly power, good brought his wrath down upon him by a really heavy barrel smashed him, and of course it Just _had_ to not roll off, and he was stuck.

Why the fucking hell?

He groaned in irritation when the wooden bastard was finally removed from on top of him. They could have taken the thing of him from the beginning. But, no. They wanted to watch him suffer like the damn sadists they were.

It was Ace and Luffy who picked it up from him. Just another reason for him to hate those pirates. They were lazy bastards, making extremely injured kids hoist a stupid barrel up.

They, like him had furious expressions plastered on their features. They wanted so bad to be able to beat them up, but they couldn't. They were exhausted, malnourished, and hurt. Their chances of winning were completely against them.

His raven haired boys helped him up before they walked back to the pirates Sabo knew they were going to do something.

He was right.

Ace clenched his fists, jumped, and punched one of the guys in the stomach.

Luffy brought his leg back and kicked another guy in the shin with all his power.

Both men were on the floor clutching the accused part of their body. All the others -maybe fifteen- rushed them, pinning all three of them to the ground.

Sabo gave an annoyed glare at his brothers. "You just had to do that!?" He yelled. They mirrored his expression.

"They hurt you!" Ace shouted back. True, those two were very protective and at the same time hardly protective of him at all. When they believe he can take care of himself, then they would sit back and relax, not giving a shit. But, when he can't, they would freak.

That, however, didn't change the fact that they made it worse by attacking them. "And you dumbas's just sealed our fate!" True to Sabo's words the pirates started hitting them.

It felt like hours until they stopped, but they did, though only one left. They abandoned them on the floor, not even bothering to move them. Finally they were left alone

Then the guy that left came back with a spiked club. All the pirates looked at the three with a cruel face.

Sabo was having a _terrible_ day.

* * *

 **And oh my god, it was really freaking short! I give up! My chapters for this fic are short!**

 **anyway, this is the Last chapter to give an idea for Sabo's devil fruit.**

 **Of you have any questions feel free to ask them.**

 **UnderTakerxXxMadnesS: Ace has the same devil fruit, Luffy has one that I made up. Tell you sister thanks for adding something. **

**GreenDarkness : It seems that his his leaning towards something to do with air. Ahem.. Spoiler alert! Their not going to escape, so yeah...**

 **Guest (SpadianTimeMage?) : Yeah, sorry about that. Yes, Sabo did meet Dragon, but he doesn't know his name, nor who he is.**

 **KisumeKlovia:** **Thanks.** **  
**


	4. Mera-Mera

**Thank you GreenDarkness for reviewing!**

 **And I have finally decided on a devil fruit for Sabo. Most wanted an air fruit so I made one that had to do with air.**

 **Disclaimer: (I forgot to do these on the last three chapters so here they are) I don't own one piece, I don't own one piece, I don't own one piece, I don't own one piece.**

* * *

Ace, Luffy, and Sabo's injuries that they got before being kidnapped, were completely healed. The bandages that they had were gone, but were replaced with new ones.

Sabo had a large burn mark over his eye, The bandage that Luffy once had around his eye was gone leaving a long scar that ran from his temple to his jaw, they were so close to being healed.

They were left mostly alone. The only thing that led to was that they were getting close to the slave traders. They had to be in a 'better' shape when sold.

If only they could stop time, they wouldn't have to deal with it.

Though he wouldn't admit it, Luffy was terrified. But to justify his fear, anyone would be afraid, Ace and Sabo were too. Nobody wanted all their freedom taken from them, nobody. That's why they would get out. They would escape and set sail, away from everything else, just them and the blue ocean.

While Ace and Sabo were making more strategy's (it was really just Sabo because Ace couldn't come up worth plans to save his life.), he had drifted off into his own little world.

He asked one of the pirates how long they had been there. He said almost a month. He wondered of anyone back at Goa noticed they were gone. It probably took Dadan a week, she knew how exited they were to leave that stuffy shack, so she probably guessed they went back to their treehouse. What a surprise she would get. Makino only came up a few times, she would only know when Dadan would come looking for them. And Garp, oh Garp, he would be gone for a few more years, it was likely he wouldn't even care if they were gone anyway, all he ever did was abuse them.

He rubbed at the metal cuffs around his wrists, as if he worked at it long enough or would disappear.

He hated them.

Everything about them told of broken dreams and captivity. He wanted them gone.

Suddenly they heard a loud bang, Bluejam had entered the room, the door wide open. And he had that god-damned smirk again. The three jumped up, ready for a fight but the pirate just widened his smirk.

"No need to get so riled up boy's. All I want is to give you some _food,_ you haven't eaten in two days." He said.

He was up to something, Luffy could tell, it was just too obvious. He had no food in his hands, or anywhere around him, and the way he emphasized 'food' was nerve-wracking. None of the bothers relaxed even the tiniest bit, in-fact they tensed.

"Yeah? Well good for you." Luffy sneered.

"Oh you have no idea how good it is for me." Now they were really anxious. Maybe he poisoned the food? It was better then being a slave. But that would get in the way of Bluejam's plans so there was no way he would let them off with just killing them.

"We don't want your food, so fuck off." Ace glared daggers at the man.

He however just moved closer to the three. "I will. But you're coming with." He grabbed Ace by his shirt. Said ten year-old growled and kicked him in the shin. Before Bluejam could even wince Sabo was on his neck choking him with his legs and at the same time covering his eyes so he couldn't see, and Luffy was kicking him in the balls continually.

God he hated those brats.

He no idea which of the boys to go for first, all three were causing a ship-load of agony. He decided on Luffy, nobody disrespected his golden eggs. He grabbed a handful of the hair on Luff's head and threw his to into the wall. Then he pulled on one of Sabo's legs so the boy would fall over, he did that exactly, and Sabo was hanging upside-down growling at him. He kneed Ace in the stomach and the boy fell limp, but he was clearly still awake.

When Bluejam thought he was finally free Luffy was back up and in-front of him. "Let go of them!" Bluejam ignored the boy and went to leave, but Luffy kicked him in the dick, **again**.

All he saw was red, and then he was smashing his foot into Luffy's face. He didn't hear the screams that came from Ace and Sabo. All he cared about was his stick, his beautiful stick, that was in the utmost agony.

He stormed out of the room with the two boys still in his hands.

* * *

Sabo was furious. First Bluejam attacked them, and then he separated them. He threw Ace in another room earlier and then threw him in a room identical to the one he was in minutes ago.

He wanted to rip the guy's head off and stick it up his ass.

Bluejam had left earlier mumbling something about sleeping off some pain from his golden pride. Good for him.

He was tired. He just wanted to go back. Everything in their world had started crashing down on them.

He didn't want to be a slave. He knew what happened too a slave, how their 'owners' treated them. He didn't want to be one. He didn't want Ace or Luffy to be one.

He'd rather die.

The only things that were keeping him from killing himself right then and there were his brothers.

* * *

Bluejam, to say the least, was in pain, a lot of pain. Those damn brats were going to get it sooner or later, wither it was his doing or not.

And that being said, now that he was alone... He fell to the ground clutching his crotch. It hurt like hell! Seriously, how did a kid have such a hard kick!? It hurt so bad he wanted to cry! Was there some kind of god of the green darkness that had a grudge against his dick!? God, why!? Just why!? Ugh, he hated those brats so much! They were the workers of evil! What kind of brats would torment a dick so much!?

Eventually the agony subsided and he was able to move properly. He got up and looked over to the desk next to one of the walls. On it, was the chest that held the devil fruits. He opened it. All three were sitting there. Good.

He did some research and found that the third fruit was called the Iki-Iki No Mi.

He left the room. All the other pirates on the ship were giving him weird looks. Ignore, Ignore. Nothing happened in there. Nobody needed to know.

When he arrived at the room he threw Ace in he realized he didn't have the devil fruit.

God-damn it!

He stormed back to the room, grabbed a random fruit from the chest, and went back to Ace's room. And when he walked in... He felt a pain in-between his legs. He looked down, Ace was standing there, a proud look on his face, and one leg up.

One leg up... One leg... Up... His balls... His poor balls... Brat... Balls... Brat... His balls.

"Arrrgggghhhhh!" Bluejam yelled to the air. Why did everyone hate his balls!?

Ace jumped back to the corner of the room with slight fear but the smug expressing never left him. He did it, he finally got a kick at Bluejam's crotch. He would never forget it.

"Brat!" Ace was brought out of his thoughts by the loud angered yell. "The only reason you're not dead, is because you are my ticket to being rich!"

"Like I care!" Ace shouted back.

Bluejam ignored him. He didn't fell like wasting his time. "Now, do you know what this is?" He held up the fruit he grabbed earlier. Seemed it was the Mera-Mera No Mi, kind of for Ace's personality.

Ace looked at the thing for a long moment. "No." He said simply.

"Well, you're goin' ta' find out soon." Bluejam strode over to Ace.

Ace tensed. He didn't like the look on the man's face. He wished he had his metal pipe. Just having a weapon made him fell safer. And they reminded him of Luffy and Sabo, because they used one too. It had been maybe an hour since they were separated and he was already missing them do much.

It made sense though. He used to be alone, but they changed that. They gave him reason to live. without then he was all alone and lost, with them, he was lost with two others. They helped each other.

Bluejam grabbed Ace by his chin. Damn it, he wasn't paying attention! What was wrong with him? He was such an idiot. He clawed at the pirates hand.

Bluejam held the Mera-Mera to Ace's face. "Eat it." Those words were chilling enough to make Ace flinch.

"Go to hell, you bastar-!" Ace's words were muffled when the orange fruit was shoved in his mouth. Ace felt so weak, he couldn't do anything but insult the person he hatred so much. He should be stronger then that, he was just useless.

All he could do was swallow the thing and hope it didn't do anything to him. He felt like he ate a whole bunch of ashes. He gagged and coughed at the bitter taste. Whatever it was, it had to have gone bad.

He felt hot, really hot. Like he was burning. He hated fire.

He felt his heart speed it rapidly. He didn't notice the grip that was once holding him leave, or the sound of the door shuting. All that existed was him and the fire that was around him, up his arms.

Fire...

He ran through the blazing inferno that was once called the grey terminal.

Fire...

He couldn't breath. The smoke in the air suffocated him.

Burning...

He tripped over a plank of wood. He fell in the fire.

Fire...

Luffy helped him up. They ran.

Flaming...

Everything was burning. He was in hell.

Hot...

He felt like passing out. He could hardly move.

Smoke...

He couldn't see. It was all ashes.

Smell...

A woman grabbed his ankle. She was stuck under the garbage. She screamed for help. He ran.

Hot...

Bluejam attacked them. Luffy got hurt.

Fire...

They were surrounded by fire.

"BLUEJAM!"

* * *

 **Y'know my updates for this fic are pretty fucking fast, so I think that makes up for how short they are.**

 **I was planning on having Luffy and Sabo eat their devil fruits on this chapter too but then I was like 'nah', so I didn't.**

 **So if anyone is wondering the Iki-Iki No Mi is translated as the Breath-Breath fruit. if you go Google translate you will not get breath though. 'Iki' had more then one meaning, just to clarify.**

G **reenDarkness:** **Yeah, but no, it doesn't happen. Yes, Luffy did eat the Ghost-Ghost fruit, I hope you like it (If there is already a Ghost-Ghost fruit then its not the same, I made this one up.). I hate Bluejam just as much as you, and one day I will punish him for his wrong doings (even though I made him do them.). Oh, and I think you noticed, but I abused his dick just for you! You're welcome!**

 **Please read and review! :) :)**


	5. Yure-Yure

**Thank you GreenDarkness for reviewing!**

 **Disclaimer:** **I don't own one piece**

* * *

Luffy didn't know what to do when he heard Ace's shout. It frightened him. The anger was no surprise, it was completely normal. But the distinct fear he heard in his voice was extremely unsettling for him.

He didn't like hearing such panic in his brother's voice, he was a strong boy, so anything that made him sound like that was really bad, it reminded him of when they were in that fire.

He trembled.

Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it... Good.

Whatever Bluejam did it was not good, to say the least.

He wanted to see his brothers. He needed to see his brothers.

When Bluejam entered the room he clenched his fists. "What did you do with Ace and Sabo?" He demanded in a cold tone -or at least tried because of his raspy voice.

"Oh, nothing really..." Bluejam grinned. Luffy could hear amusement in his voice. He thought torturing them was fun. He ruined their lives and he thought it was fun! "Just making more money~"

Luffy snarled. "You and goddamn money." He hated the pirates love for money. That's what started the whole thing. If he just didn't care, then he would be back at Goa living freely. But Bluejam's adoration for treasure turned all that upside-down.

Bluejam lost his smirk. He clearly didn't like people insulting his money, he got mad the last time he insulted it too. "Shut yer trap ya' little imp." Said 'imp' shut up immediately, though still glared through bagged eyes.

The nightmares that he and Ace got, mixed with the malnutrition and being beaten every day really did something to the amount of sleep they got. Even though Sabo wasn't part of the fire he had nightmares too, he assumed they were about his parents since he heard mumbling from him a few nights before. Therefore the bags under their eyes would keep accumulating.

Luffy couldn't describe how venerable he felt against Bluejam at that moment, everything was wrong in his life. They should have been back at Dadan's, running away from the work she was giving them, they should have been eating a decent meal every day. But life thought it would be a good idea to take all that away from them. They were ten years old for god's sake, and they were about to become slaves!

He noticed Bluejam hold up his arm, in his hand was something gray. His eyes widened. "A devil fruit..." He said, mostly to himself.

When the bandits attacked Makino's bar he came across the Gomu-Gomu No Mi. After the conflict with Higuma he asked Shanks what it was, the red-haired pirate told him that they gave you some kind of power in return for you ability to swim -kind of ironic considering that the majority that ate them sailed on water, he said there were three types; Logia, Paramecia, and Zoan.

"That's right. And now you get it." The captain swung it back and forth from the stem.

Luffy glared. "And what if I don't want it?" True it would be kind of cool to have a power, but not if it came from Bluejam, nothing that came from him did he want.

"You don't have a choice, brat!" Bluejam stormed to Luffy. He despised everything about those devil children. If only he could kill them and still get his money. Crouching down the man shoved the fruit in front of Luffy's face. "Now eat the damn thing!"

Luffy tried to push the gray fruit away, but with his weak body and the force of the pirate's shoving into his face working together against him, it didn't budge. Bluejam grew angry with waiting and pryed Luffy's mouth open with one hand and pushed the fruit into his mouth with the other. He watched as the boy grudgingly chewed and swallowed it. Satisfied, the pirate left the room.

Luffy felt like he swallowed a whole bunch of rotten meat with a dash of dirt to make it more... Disgusting. He choked at the taste, and almost threw up. It took all of his willpower to just to not throw up. That _thing_ tasted abominable, he wasn't sure if it was worth getting powers if he had to eat something so horrific, he hoped he wouldn't get brain damage from the taste. But it was gone, inside of him, and now he was a devil fruit user. He wondered what kind of power he got, should've asked Bluejam.

No, knowing him, he would just be an aggravating dick about whatever power he had and then start singing his stupid, pretty-pink-princess, I'm a beautiful fairy, look at my oh-so-expensive castle, song about being wealthy. That 'song' was hell on earth. If there was any kind of music playing in hell that was it, and god did he suck at singing, was he tone deaf or something?

Bringing himself out of his thought, he looked to his side and paled in shock and fear. Spread around the room were three people, they were transparent, yet he could distinctly see their faces and the blood that drenched them all. There was a woman, she had what he guessed was chestnut brown hair, wearing a dress that was soaked red, she had plenty of wounds around her body, she wasn't looking at him, none of them were. There were two men, one with black hair, he had a stab wound in his head. And a man with dark blue hair, he was missing an arm, he could see his bone, and he had a slash in his neck. "W-who?" All three snapped their heads to him, unnaturally fast. Their eyes were a pale blue that only succeeded in making him more scared.

After a really long staring contest, the bloodied woman spoke. "You can see us?" He nodded dumbly with wide eyes. Was that the power he got from the fruit? Seeing something he couldn't before? A ghost maybe, or a zombie?

They started talking amongst themselves, he couldn't hear what they were saying to know the were planning something, the pale blue eyes promised trouble. He didn't like it.

"What are you?" He asked them, suddenly not afraid anymore, like it was a normal occurrence -actually, it kind of was for him- to see dead people.

"...Ghosts." The girl answered. So they were ghosts, that settled one thing, his power had something to do with spirits. For some reason something about her voice unsettled him, it sounded normal, but...

"What are you doing here, wouldn't you go to, like... The afterlife, or something like that?" He heard himself asking.

They all stared at him, seeming to be contemplating whether or not answer. "Some of us stay, some of us go." Was all the blue haired one said.

Luffy hoped they would give him more information about it, but, oh well, they did just meet after all, it's not like he was ready to fully trust them anyway, he doubted it wouldn't be the same for them. "Alright." They started talking to each other again, shooting a few malicious glances his way every once in a while. He hated it, not being able to hear what they were saying -obviously- about him.

it reminded him of all the people in Fuusha village. The adults always tried to be nice but when they though he wasn't listening they'd start mumbling about how he was a demon child, or that he was freakish and too strong. The kids were openly rude about it, going out of their way just to throw rocks at him. Before Shanks, Makino was the only one that really cared about him. He seriously doubted Garp actually loved him, he just wanted to make him a marine.

Suddenly the black haired ghost was right in-front of him. He didn't know what happened next, all he knew was that his body felt cold, like it was empty, like it wasn't his body anymore.

* * *

 **I don't want to hear anything about my chapters being short, AT ALL! You got that!? Yes, Yes you do!**

 **GreenDarkness: ****You're welcome. And, Ace won't 'accidently' burn them until quite a few chapters later when they are older (But it will happen). I hope you liked Ace's reaction and Luffy and Sabo's reactions that will happen after that.**

 **Please read and review! :) :)**


	6. Iki-Iki

**Disclaimer: I don't own one piece.**

* * *

To say Sabo was tired was a _huge_ understatement. It was like everything was getting in his way of a good nap. It had maybe a day since they were separated and he got not a wink of sleep. There was absolutely no way he could sleep after Ace's shout, but if that didn't make things bad enough for him, Luffy started screaming on his top of his lungs how he was going to kill Bluejam, his older brother honestly sounded insane.

Maybe he was insane, maybe Bluejam did something to him? What if he did something to Ace? It would make sense considering how furious Luffy sounded... But no, they were strong, they wouldn't let anything happen to each other, he wouldn't let anything happen to them. If he did he would fail as a brother.

He already failed them once by not being there to help them during the fire... Those two almost died and he couldn't help them. What kind of brother was he, to let them down like that, even if they weren't expecting him. he was their brother, he should protect them, be for them in hard moments, run away together when they went dine-n-dashing.

Those were always the good times. When they ate at a restaurant and then ran, he loved the red faces of the workers there when they chased after them. That was a great time in his life, but it was gone and he had other things to worry about than the past; his brothers were in possible danger.

He really wanted to be next to his brothers. He wouldn't be able to survive without them. They were his light, despite they themselves being a shadow. They thrived on each others light, the light that only they could see, the light that was darkness for the rest of the world.

And now those lights were suffering from god knows what all by themselves. And he was just sitting there, it wasn't like he could move but still

"BLUEJAM! GET THE FUCK IN HERE! I'LL KILL YOU!" There was Luffy again, yelling his throat skinless. How could he be so loud? He'd never heard Luffy use even half so ear-splitting, even when he was relly mad.

What happened? He really had to know. Maybe Bluejam would come visit him? He never thought he would ever want that, but if it meant getting some answers then he was more than happy to deal with the self-centered bastard.

It seemed that his wish was heard. Because at that moment the door finally opened, and BLuejam himself stepped inside. "Goddamned brat just won' shut up." He heard the pirate mumble.

Immediately he started interrogating him. "What did you do to Ace and Luffy?"

Bluejam raised an eyebrow in amusement. He hated that stupid face of his. 'He, that's the same thin' the little imp Luffy asked when I came to him." He said in amusement.

Sabo snarled. "I won't ask again. What. Did. You. Do. To. Ace. And. Luffy?" He demanded, with fury, that he kept well hidden until the pirate walked in. For some reason, he just didn't feel like hiding his rage from the bastard. No, the reason was obvious, that man was the fucking piece of shit that took their freedom away. His anger was fully justified.

BLuejam seemed not to care about the tone Sabo gave him and just smirked. "I gave them food... Don't worry you'll get some too." Sabo didn't understand that man. But just giving them 'food' did not make someone go crazy like Luffy did.

"Answer me this then..." He said. "What did you do to make Luffy act like... that." He knew Bluejam understood exactly what he was talking about, he was sure anyone would. Luffy's 'acting up' was heard all around the ship. No-one could ignore it.

The pirate looked overly irritated at the mention of Luffy. "I have no fucking idea. The brat just started screaming my ears off. If I did anything, I don't know what." Sabo snorted. So the guy didn't know anything. And yeah, sure, he didn't do anything.

"We have every reason to want to kill you." He scoffed. "Now what did you want from me?" Honestly, he hoped there wasn't anything. He could just have come in there to get some air... Yeah right, what were the chances of that?

Bluejam smirked. Not good. "Right down 'ta business I see." The pirate held up a weird fruit, Sabo was surprised he didn't notice it before. Taking a better look at it his eye's widened in shock.

"I thought those were hardly found out of the Grand Line..." He thought out-loud.

BLuejam's smirk widened. "We left the East Blue long ago, we're in the Grand Line." He stated.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sabo tried to yell, but his sore throat made it impossible. The Grand Line!? That was insane! Especially for a pirate that settled on an island in the East Blue of all the Blue's!

The pirate glared at Sabo, remembering what he came there for. "Now, Brat. Eat it." He moved the Devil Fruit around a little to indicate what he wanted the boy to eat.

Sabo stared at it. "Don't want it." He said plainly. It wasn't like that would work, but it was better than nothing. He watched as the man lost his smirk and glared down at him.

"Listen, you little devil. Either you eat this yourself, or I shove it down your pansy throat like I did those other demons." The strength behind his words scared Sabo into resignation. Why couldn't he just be strong enough to fight, no, defeat Bluejam? Why couldn't he help his brothers?

So Ace and Luffy ate Devil Fruits too... At least he wasn't alone in that. But forcing his brothers to eat those things was something that was really hard to do, so he had no chance against him. Bluejam would pay for dearly when he got a chance to beat him. Hesitantly, he held out his hand for the fruit. It was placed there and he ate the whole thing in three bites. He duly noted that Bluejam had left the room.

God that thing tasted horrible! It was like he ate a durian that was long since rotted and mixed with mud. That was the worst thing that he ever tasted. He almost threw up. Whatever 'god' created the Devil Fruit was really, **really** bad at cooking. Like a kid trying to skydive without any gear. It ended as a disgusting mess.

Well, now that he ate it, it was time to figure out what power he got, since BLuejam didn't have the decency to give him a book about them.

* * *

 **GreenDarksess:** **You'll find more about the ghosts later. No, she is not his mother. And Roger followed Shanks, reasons will be revealed later on. And the ghost possessed him. Although Sabo will have thing's like Ang's sneezes it will be different, you'll see when it happens. Thanks for always reviewing, you give me inspiration!**

 **ShadowDragon1717:** **I'm glad you are happy with my short chapters. And I am very excited to have them meet the Whitebeard pirates, but it's going to be a while, longer than I expected when I first started writing this.**

 **Guest (Whaaa):** **Thank you so much! I've** **always loved the idea of them all being protective of each other, so this is great! Yes, Garp is part of this fanfiction, I'm going to do a chapter about him finding out sooner or later. I'm glad Ace's reaction was sad for you, I love giving readers the feels. It's even better that you understand why I did it, it just makes sense. I've never been a fan of OP characters at all so I'm glad we're on the same page.**


	7. Brothers

**Thank you GreenDarkness, ShadowDragon, and Guest(Whaaa) for reviewing. (I forgot to do this a few times... sorry)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own one piece.**

* * *

"Let go of me!" Was the first thing Sabo heard that morning (?), aside from his own breathing. He looked over and saw Bluejam holding Ace by his shirt, standing in the doorway. He watched as Ace was roughly thrown down to the cold floor.

When Bluejam left, Sabo hurried to Ace's side. He would normally rush there immediately, but as his fear of Bluejam grew, he found himself hardly being able to move when the man was in the same room as him. He was such a failure.

"Ace." He called though a horse voice. The said brother was curled up on his side, it didn't seem that Ace noticed Sabo was there. "Ace." He called again. This time Ace shot up as fast as lightning, grabbing Sabo by his shoulders.

"Sabo! Sabo!" Ace yelled. Sabo was really surprised by his brother's action's, it seemed they really couldn't survive without each other. But He tried to calm his brother down by patting his back softly, his efforts paid off when the freckled boy stopped shaking him. "Sabo..."

Sabo hugged his brother, despite them both hating personal touch. He really needed to be close to his brother, he felt insecure without him. He felt Ace wrap his arms around him too. Where was Luffy? He needed Luffy. "Ace... Are you okay, Ace?" His voice was almost too quiet for Ace to hear, but he did.

"Yeah... Sabo. 'M good... You?" He nodded his head.

"Yeah..." He answered despite his earlier nod. They separated from each other, silently promising not to mention that that ever happened. None of the three ever liked showing weakness, but what had to be done, had to be done, and it was over so it didn't matter anymore.

"BLUEJAM, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" They flinched at the sound of Luffy's shout and looked at each other with worry.

"..What do you think happened?" Asked Sabo, though he knew that no answer was going to come from his older brother. He was wondering the same thing after all.

It was at that moment that the door opened for the second time that day. Bluejam there with three other pirates that time, all of them except for BLuejam himself were holding a struggling Luffy. The pirate captain strode into the room with a dark face, paying no mind to the brothers. He connected a cuff to the chain that was on the wall right next to the floor. The ones holding Luffy hurried inside the room, pinning their brother to the ground while Bluejam closed the cuffs around Luffy's feet. And they all left the room sending glares in Luffy's way.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU TRAITOR!" Luffy shouted as he tried to stand up and follow them. Ace and Sabo wondered what Luffy was talking about, but saved it for later, they had to calm Luffy down.

They crawled over to their brother, standing and walking seemed like too much of an effort to them at that moment. "Luffy!" Ace hollered. Said brother looked at them, but there was no recognition in his eyes. That worried them.

Suddenly the two brothers noticed something else. His eyes were not the onyx black they always were, instead, they were a hollow pale blue. How did they not recognize that sonnet?

Were his eyes part of what his devil fruit was? That only made sense.

"Who are you." They heard their brother ask. Panic rose to Ace and Sabo's chests. He didn't know them, he didn't recognize them. What did that fruit do? Nononono! He had to remember them, he had to! What would they do of he didn't know them, if he didn't remember all the things they went through together!? They can't be left all alone! They needed him!

"L-Lu, what do you mean?" Ace quivered as he held one of Luffy's hands tightly in his own.

Sabo shivered. "Na, Luffy... You remember us, right?" Sabo basically pleaded. The lack of recognition in his eyes said everything. He didn't know them. They didn't exist in his world anymore.

And just like that, they felt their whole world shatter.

"Oh." Luffy sounded out. "You must be this boy's friends." They hung their heads low, not even bothering to consider what the words meant. "I guess you can have him back." Ace caught Luffy as he abruptly fell down. Even if he didn't know them, they knew him and would help him. They were his brothers, they helped each other.

Luffy seemed to have passed out for a moment, but soon enough he opened his eyes again. Ace and Sabo were sitting with their knees to their chests and their heads down, so they didn't notice him. Luffy put a hand to his forehead as he sat up, using one arm to prop himself up. "Ace? Sabo?" Said brothers of the boy were up and next to him within a millisecond.

"LUFFY!" They both screamed out. They duly noted that Luffy's eyes were black again.

"Luffy do you recognize me?" Sabo questioned, cupping his raven haired brother's cheeks in his hands. Luffy didn't seem too shocked about anything that they were doing, he just nodded and smiled weakly.

"Yeah, Sabo I know you. Ace too. Sorry about that..." And just like that, they went into a normal conversation.

Even though it was only for a few moments, Ace and Sabo experienced something that they would never want to even think about again. The despair they felt for those short moments was far too much for them, and they felt even more that they wouldn't be even capable of living without their brothers. They lived together they died together.

Sabo felt it was a good moment to ask questions when silence finally fell upon the three. "What happened after we were separated?" He asked. Ace and Luffy looked like they were in deep thought after that.

"Bluejam came in and made me eat a Devil Fruit." Was Luffy's answer. Yup, count on him to not go into detail about anything and think he went into the most.

Sabo nodded. "Yeah, he told me that he fed all of us one." He informed.

" _That,_ was a Devil Fruit?" Ace questioned. He looked ready to gag at the thought of it.

"I'm afraid so." Was all Sabo said. "Can you tell me what you think your power is?" Ace looked almost terrified at the mention of it. He would get his answers soon, no need to push it.

Luffy was the first to answer again. "Mine lets me see ghosts. I'm not sure what else."

Sabo stored the information in his head. "Ok. That's interesting, tell me a little about it." His older brother shivered. Now he wanted to know more.

"Well, I can see ghosts, like I said. And talk to them." He paused to think of what to say next. "Oh. And they can possess me." Ace and Sabo were stunned stiff. Possession? They didn't like the sound of that.

"Was that why you didn't recognize us earlier?" Sabo heard himself asking. It was the only explanation for his behavior, but it had to be impossible. Ace looked at Luffy with demanding eyes.

The scarred boy stared at the ground. "Mh. I was possessed. I could still see the things that were happening, but I just... Didn't control my body." He hugged himself and brought his knees to his chest, ignoring the annoying shackles around his ankles. Ace and Sabo knew what he was saying. He was unable to move his own body when he told it to, that feeling was something unbearable for them, and for so long, there was no way he wouldn't be feeling like he did. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that to you..." They scooted closer to Luffy, as if they could never be separated if they got close enough together.

"It's okay." Ace assured.

"We're back together after all." Sabo added.

Luffy got back his normal personality as he glared at the wall. "I hate that shit-bag." They couldn't agree more.

After a long while of quiet Sabo continued the conversation. "My fruit allows me to use air. I'm not a Logia, though." He started, earning his brothers attention. "I've been practicing for a while now. It seems I can control the air around me to a certain extent. I also don't have to breathe." They looked awed as they listened.

"Must be nice not needing to breathe." Ace said sarcastically. They shared a short-lived chuckle.

"What about you Ace?" The freckled boy flinched.

There was a moment of silence before he answered. "Logia..." They nodded for his to continue. "...Fire" Ace didn't have to say anything more for them to understand. Luffy cringed as the memories of that hell flashed through his mind. They huddled closer together. Sabo felt even more like a failure.

They were brothers.

They would go through hell and back together.

They wouldn't be separated again, not if they could help it.

* * *

 **GreenDarkness:** **Yeah, I thought it would be good to do Sabo's POV. And no, as you just read, they were put back together. I don't think I'm going to let them escape the slavers, I feel bad about what I'm going to do to them about escaping and slaves and all that stuff, poor boys. Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	8. Mess-Up

**Thank you GreenDarkness, Rizuki Dhan, AndurilofTolkien, UnderTakerxXxMadnesS, and Guest (Whaaa/Wheee),**

 **Please read and reveiw!**

 **I don't own one piece.**

* * *

Luffy watched the three ghosts with a critical eye, not letting even one small movement go unnoticed.

He couldn't let his last fiasco happen again. He didn't want to make his brothers feel such despair again because of him. Of only he noticed that ghost earlier, then they wouldn't have had to suffer in such a way. He should have been more on guard.

This time, however, he wasn't allowing that happen. He would watch them until the moment they withered away.

Wait, could ghosts even die?

Whatever, it didn't matter. He was busy and didn't want to waste his time or energy thinking about irrelevant things.

They seemed to notice his actions and were staring right back at him impassively. For whatever reason, he didn't like them even looking at him. Or maybe it wasn't _him_ that he didn't like them looking at, but his _brothers._

He was the only one that could protect them from them after all. He was the only one that could see them, he was the only one that could touch them, he was the only one. So he was the single person that could keep his brothers safe, and he would, no matter what.

He had a lot of questions to ask those spirits. Who knew if they would give him truthful responses, or even if they would answer them at all.

"Who are you anyway." He inquired. Ace and Sabo glanced at him, neither created the impression of knowing who exactly he was talking to.

The spirits waited for a moment. "Ghosts, like we already said." The black haired one answered.

Luffy inwardly rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know. But who were you, as in who were you before." He clarified. They appeared to already know what he was implying before but were just playing with his words.

The black haired spirit gave a ghost of a smirk (Yes, that was pun intended.). "Alright then... We were once a part of Bluejam's crew." Luffy's eyes widened.

Bluejam's crew? So he had another reason to hate them.

The other ghosts hit the black haired one over the head -though he doubted it even hurt him- and scolded him for talking too much, but he didn't care so he continued asking his questions. "So he betrayed you, and you want revenge, right?" They looked slightly shocked at his deduction, only further confirming it. "I see. And that was the reason you possessed me?" No answer came from them as they stared right through him. He took it as a yes. "Even then, I can't forgive you for what you did... I want you to leave me and my brothers alone."

Said brothers watched with curiosity. If they didn't know he could see ghosts, they would have thought he was insane.

The woman of the ghosts was the only one that nodded. "We don't plan on doing anything. Not to you at least." She said. Luffy focused on them for five maybe ten minutes before he nodded in acknowledgment, but still kept a close eye on them as he joined in on a conversation Ace and Sabo had started.

* * *

Ace didn't mean too.

He really didn't.

He curled up in a ball in the corner of the room. He buried his face in his arms, he didn't want them to see the tears streaming down his cheeks. Sabo was busy calming Luffy down, they wouldn't see him anyway.

He didn't mean to.

Why couldn't he just do things right for once in his life? He was such a fuck-up. A goddamned fuck-up. All he ever did was mess things up. He was always such a burden to them, and now he just made it worse. He couldn't hide his trembling.

It wasn't his choice. It just happened.

If only he hadn't eaten that fruit. If only he was strong enough to stop Bluejam when he fed him the piece of shit.

He should've been able to stop it. He could have done something about it if just had more time to practice.

He moved his head slightly so he could see his brothers. Luffy was sitting in the opposite corner of him with his knees up to his chest. The panic that filled his eyes broke his already broken heart. Luffy didn't even seem to notice anything going on around him as he stared into the nothingness. There were no tears in his eyes, it was like he didn't even know how to cry.

He'd only seen Luffy cry once before. One night, he woke up to muffled sobs. He went to check what or who it was, turned out Luffy had had some kind of nightmare. He didn't know how to comfort anyone, but he tried. He doubted he actually helped at all. Luffy never told him what the 'dream' was about.

Sabo was sitting next to Luffy with a hand on his shoulder. He noticed a few concerned glances shot his way.

He didn't deserve people being worried about him.

He was scum.

It had been maybe thirty minutes after it happened.

It had started as a normal day for them (Or at least the normal life of someone who was being held captive by pirates.). But, that all ended when Ace's devil fruit acted up. His entire arms turned to fire.

Luffy did not react well, to say the least.

The boy freaked. Screaming for Ace. He thought Ace was on fire (In a way he was). Both he and Sabo felt the dread running off Luffy. He didn't know what to do when it happened. So he ran as far away from Luffy as he could. He didn't want to be the cause of his brother's dismay.

He didn't mean to.

Why was he so weak?

Why was he such a failure?

Why was he even born?

* * *

 **GreenDarkness:** **Yeah... They're gonna be sold. I'm a jerk. I'm not sure whether I'm going to time skip or not. If I don't I will go through it as fast as possible as I can because I want to hurry and have them meet the Whitebeard Pirates.**

 **I'm not sure whether I'm going to time skip or not. If I don't I will go through it as fast as possible as I can because I want to hurry and have them meet the Whitebeard Pirates.**

 **Thanks for reviewing.**

 **Guest (Whaaa/Wheee):** **Yeah. I'm going to explain how the DF's work sooner or later. Yup, Ace feels way worse because of his DF. And both Ace and Luffy know who**

 **Both Ace and Luffy know who** **their fathers are. So yeah.**

 **Oh! And I failed to give the other half of my answer from the last review you sent so here it is.**

 **No, I don't plan on doing any pairings. And if I did, it wouldn't be anything serious, just a few moments when a shipping is implied.**

 **And YES! I just love the WBP pirates being protective of ASL! It's the best! I love it!**

 **Thanks for reviewing! (I hate Bluejam too. Very, very much)**

 **UnderTakerxXxMaddnesS:** **No, Sabo's is a Paramecia. Sorry. Ace is the eldest, Luffy is middle, and Sabo is the youngest.**


	9. Winner

**Thank you Flowerbelle, MyAnimeObsession, GreenDarkness, Whaaa/Wheee, 1andonlyjack, EnixFairy, for reviewing!**

* * *

Luffy stood stiffly next to the door as he waited.

The day had eventually come, the day they would either be sold to the slavers or the day they would get out of there. It was the day that decided their fate.

For whatever reason, he felt there was a pretty good chance of them getting out.

He sent a short glance at his brothers. Both were glaring at the door waiting for the right moment. Sabo stood right next to him while Ace was farther away on Sabo's side.

He missed Ace.

He missed when Ace would talk to him.

Ever since that disaster with Ace's devil fruit, Ace had been avoiding him. He would hardly talk to him, or even look at him without a look of guilt washing over his features. Luffy hated seeing his brother like that, with such a self-loathing look in his eyes.

He killed whatever self-esteem Ace still had left. Buried it six feet under the ground with everything else that was dead. It was his fault Ace was like that. And he had no idea how to fix it.

Ace was afraid of coming near him. He didn't want to hurt him. He was trying to protect him, protect him by secluding himself from him. By leaving one of the things that held his broken heart together.

It was all his fault. He should have expected the fire. How was he supposed to fix it? Was it even possible? Would Ace allow himself to be put back together by the very one that did that to him?

He knew that Ace didn't hate him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have cared about him. But, Luffy so was close to wishing that Ace didn't care about him, then he wouldn't be in so much mental agony.

If Ace didn't think of him as a brother, just like when Luffy first came to Dadan's, then he would be happier.

If only he had just told the Bluejam pirates where that treasure was from the beginning then Ace and Sabo wouldn't be in that situation.

He messed up, bad. He wished he could go back in time and to himself not to befriend Ace and Sabo. If him not being there made his brothers happy then he would gladly give his own happiness up. He would do anything for them.

But, he had already made his mistake. His brothers were deeply affected by his defect of being afraid of being alone. And now, all he could do was help his brothers the best he could.

But that, would be the last time he reached or to anyone because of his fear. They shouldn't differ because of him too.

Ace had already told him about his fruit. He should have prepared himself. If he had Ace wouldn't be in such pain.

He jumped when the door slammed open. In walked Bluejam and six members of his crew. The smirk on all of their faces said that they were more than happy to finally get rid of them. The pirates spread out so there was a pirate at both the sides of the boys with Bluejam in front. "Move, brats." Was all the captain said. They said nothing but walked out with the pirates close to them.

They walked with a moderate pace through the halls of the ship. They took in every detail of the ship, from the debts in the walls to the brightness of the room. In their situation, anything could be useful.

Luffy looked over to Sabo waiting for the signal. They decided that they needed something to indicate when top start their escape plan. It was a few second after, the he noticed Sabo flock his fingers.

And just like that all hell broke lose.

Ace jumped up, all the way to the pirate's heads, and did a split kick, hitting both of them perfectly in the head. Both fell to the ground passed out. Luffy stomped on both of his pirate's shoes. When they were clutching their feet, he took the chance to throw them off balance and then knock them out with a hit in the back of their necks. Sabo sent a low kick at their legs, the pirates fell over and hit their heads on the floor. He kicked their heads just to make sure they were actually out.

All the while Bluejam didn't move an inch, but there was a dark black aura surrounding him as they took care of the other pirates. Ace, Luffy, and Sabo wasted no time as they ran away. They wanted nothing to do with an angry Bluejam, and in their current states, there was not even one way in hell they would be able to stand a chance against him.

All they had to do was find a good sized boat and they were out.

Suddenly their plan sounded almost impossible to him.

Frist, they had to find the boat while evading a whole bunch of angry pirates and slave traders. Then they had to get on the boat and sail away on the _Grand Line,_ without getting caught by them again. And supposing they did manage to get away, they were on the Grand Line, a place where the weather makes no sense, and there was no way for them to know how to get around it, nor did they know how far away the next island would be.

Damn it!

Of only those ghosts would help them. He asked then earlier if they would help them of it was needed.

It took a lot of courage for him to ask such a thing. After what they did, he didn't want their help. But his brothers came first.

They, of course, shot his request down without hesitation. They only cared about revenge. And helping them wouldn't get their revenge.

He had no right to request that anyway. Since he himself told them he wanted them to leave them alone.

They ran as fast as they could through the ship. It was when they made it to the deck that they ran into some more pirates.

At first, Luffy didn't know why Bluejam didn't grab them before they could get away. But now he did. BLuejam expected them to try and escape. He was making a fool of them for trying to run away.

There were maybe one hundred pirates forming a barrier around the ship's railing. Even of they accomplished getting a boat, they wouldn't make it or of the ship, unless it was on the slave traders ship, the only part that wasn't guarded by pirates.

He gazed at Ace and Sabo. They seemed to be thinking the same things as him. He hoped they would be able make it out of there.

But their chances were fleeting.

They would have to fight every pirate on the ship to be able to get out.

With only a moment's hesitation, they charged at them. Ace was the up-front, full force fighter, jumping up and punching or kicking them as hard as he could. Luffy was also a full force fighter, but he chose to do it in a different way; attacking from behind them, using one of the pirates he knocked out as a weapon to trip the other pirates and so on. Sabo chose to do the background work, using things around the deck as traps that would either trip them or at least get them stuck while taking care of the ones that got in his way, and covering for Ace and Luffy because they were such reckless fighters.

It was once they were almost finished with them that they realized their fatal mistake.

They completely forgot about the slave traders.

The slavers pinned them down to the ground from behind. The were stuck.

Luffy could only watch as they put shackles on his brothers. They must have had something weird to them because the moment they touched the cuffs they fell limp and stopped struggling.

"ACE! SABO!" He heard himself scream. They hardly made any acknowledgment of him save for a painful look pointed his way. "LET GO OF THEM!" He couldn't let them get hurt anymore.

He couldn't.

He wouldn't.

The slavers picked his brothers up like a bag of potatoes. They did nothing. "STOP! LEAVE THEM ALONE!" They ignored his pleas and threw them his bond brothers in the other ship. "LET THEM GO!" He lowered his head to the wood floor in an attempt to hide the large tears running down his eyes. "Please..."

He couldn't help them.

He went limp suddenly under the pirate's weight. Looking at his hands he noticed that he had shackles on them. It felt like he didn't have any strength at all. He may as well not have it.

He turned his head around when he heard clapping from behind him. It was Bluejam, he was standing not far from him with his hands together up in the air. His face spoke of amusement.

It was all just a game to him now.

They were all just players in his stupid game, fighting for the finish.

Bluejam won.

* * *

 **MyAnimeObsession:** **As you just read, they were waiting for the right moment.**

 **GreenDarkness:** **Yup. Poor Ace...**

 **No, the ghosts won't follow Luffy, they don't give a crap about them or what they are doing. All they care about it getting their revenge.**

 **Thanks for warning me. I would hate it if I lost a good fan. You're the best of em' all.**

 **Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Guest (Whaaa/Where): Oh, you are more than right about Ace. The poor boy of only going to stop (or more like stop a little.) thinking like that when they meet the WBP.**

 **The ghosts won't even be seen again to yeah...**

 **Oh, and I'm going to give you a spoiler. They are going to meet the Bluejam pirates again. And he is going to get what's coming to him.**

 **EnixFairy: As you read the ghosts don't care about them or their problems. And YES, there will be a LOT of ghosts around him. But he would be alone... You'll see later**


	10. Missing

**Oh my God. I an so sorry! This chapter is short on a whole new level. I just didn't really know what to write with them, so... Yeah. Sorry.**

 **Thank you andurilofTolken, UnderTakerxXxMadnesS, and 1oneandonlyjack for reviewing!**

* * *

Garp grinned as he walked through the dense forest. After a long while, he was finally able to go visit his grandsons.

Ace and Sabo may not have been his grandsons by blood, but that changed nothing. They were all his precious grandsons, and even if he didn't act like a loving grandpa much, he adored them. Tha was why he had to make them marines. So they wouldn't be chased by the government.

When he first meet Sabo, he was surprised, he'd never meet the boy after all. But the way Ace and Luffy looked at Sabo was one of pure attachment and protectiveness. There was a warm energy surrounding them when they were with the blond boy. A look he'd never seen on Ace and only seen once for Luffy when he told him about Shanks. He never even looked that way with Makino, and she was like a mother to him.

Sabo was a blessing to those boys and they were a blessing to him. A perfect match.

When the old shack that Dadan and the bandits stayed was in view he sped up his pace. He was more than eager to see the boys. For whatever reason, he felt he should use the door normally, and that he did as he knocked on the wooden door.

It took a while for it to be opened, but it did, and the sight he was met with was most unpleasant. Dadan was looking at him with dead eyes, she looked a thousand years older and the bags under her eyes didn't help in the slightest. Behind her, he could see a few other bandits scattered around the room, some pacing back and forth, and others sitting around in depression, all looked just as dead as Dadan. He couldn't make out who it was via Dadan in his way of seeing most, but he heard distressed sobs sounding out through the room.

"What's going on?" He asked with rising worry that was well hidden behind his calm attitude.

The bandit leader ignored him and signaled for him to follow her inside. "You have terrible timing. You should have come months ago." He did as instructed and closed the door behind him. He found that the one that was weeping was in-fact Makino herself. She sat on the ground, hiding her face in her hands, she was visibly trebling.

Garp didn't know what to think about their behaviour, it was just to out of character for the bandits, and Makino was a strong woman, it took a lot for her to break down like that.

He brought his eyes back to Dadan. "What happened?" He asked with a stern voice. The bandits didn't react at all to him unlike their usual.

The bandit leader sighed as she ran a hand through her unruly hair. "It's best you know..." She started. "The brats 'r gone." Though it was said simply, there was a heavy weight behind the words.

He knew they weren't dead, he could tell, but he still had more then one reason to be worried. "What do you mean. Tell me everything." He demanded.

And so she did. "There was a fire... The grey terminal was burned down..." The woman started. Garp listened intently as she told him about the while thing. "After they were almost finished healing, we let then go back outside... They never came back..." Garp waited for her to continue with eager ears. The whole while Makino's sobs only grew louder. "We haven't found them, not yet."

Garp was shocked. They were gone, disappeared right from under his nose. How could he have let something happen to them? He needed to find then. "Do you know who took them?" He knew they wouldn't just up and leave, they had too much here that they wouldn't want to leave until they were older. He heard that they were planning on leaving when they were seventeen. So the only thing that was left was someone kidnapping them. That had too be it.

"We have an idea." She clenched her fists in anger. "That bastard, Bluejam." Garp noticed all of the bandits faces turn to an expression of pure hatred. They despised that man. "He has to be the one... Damn it. I should have made sure he was dead back then."

Garp felt true rage. He heard about a pirate around the grey terminal before, the leader being Bluejam. He didn't think of the pirates as a threat, there were many 'bad' people around those parts and Ace, Luffy and Sabo were strong, that's why he never bothered to get rid of them. But, it seemed he was wrong. Very, very wrong. He should have done something about then before anything happened.

He didn't have any anger directed at the bandits as most would think. They were trying their hardest, the bags under their eyes and the worn out body language showed that they truly cared. He sighed and lowered his head. "Thank you..." Was all he said after that. He really needed some rest. But first things first he had too find out where his grandchildren were.

* * *

 **1andonlyjack:** **Hahahahaha! That was great! But you are so right, he gets to see dickhead ghosts. Very useful, don't cha think? (no)**

 **UnderTakerxXxMadnesS: I made it.**


	11. Stuck

**Thank you Whaaa/Wheee for reveiwing!**

 **Please Read and Review! Make sure to tell me anything. I take both fluffy clouds and flames. (but warning if you do flame me, it will take me longer to update while I wallow in my self-pity. So you shouldn't read my fic if you do.)**

* * *

Sabo never felt so miserable before in his life.

Sitting there tied to the mast with seastone cuffs around his ankles and wrists, he felt like the whole world abandoned him and his brothers. But, it's not like the world ever cared for them anyway. Why couldn't they have just been born into a normal life where their innocence wasn't completely destroyed before they reached the age of five, or at least, not be born at all.

Even death was better than what they were going through and about to go through.

He often found himself wishing that he died the day he tried to sail away, but then he would remember Ace and Luffy, he couldn't do that to them. If he had died that day then they would be enduring this alone, and he knew all too well that they would break much sooner than they would with him. He loved them too much to do something so cruel to them.

If he wasn't there they would have so much more to deal with than being sold. They would have lost a friend, a brother. That was an immense amount of pain, one he didn't understand, not yet. They would be alone, even if they were together, they would be empty, probably get in more fights than they already did.

They wouldn't survive well. They were both very unsociable, also disrespectful, and complete muscle heads that were always looking for a good fight.

He missed the days when he could enjoy the fluttering breeze that ruffled at his clothes and flew softly past his face. It hurt his heart to think that he, nor his brothers would ever feel it the same ever again.

Escaping from slavery was probably the thing he thought was most impossible in the world.

He never thought anything like this would happen before. He thought that the world couldn't be more heartless than it already was. He was wrong, so, so, so wrong. The world -life- didn't give a shit about them, they were just some ambitious children it had to snuff out.

Everything in the world they lived in was twisted and messed up. The rich and powerful ruled over the weak and poor, the government that was supposed to protect the innocent kissed up to the asses of world Nobel's, children had to live their lives fending for themselves, and people would judge that child just by their heritage. The son of a noble was meant to be respected unless they were corrupted, while the son of a pirate would be considered a sin by society.

He didn't know about Luffy's parents, he never talked about them. He wondered if he even knew them, if they died before he could remember them. Maybe he was another unlucky son of a wanted man.

No, the chances of that were too low.

He was just so frustrated. So goddamn frustrated. Everything crashed down on him, and he was too goddamned weak to do anything about it.

He looked at Ace, who was next to him, tied to the same mast as him. Luffy was behind him on the other side of it.

He lowered his head.

He wanted to cry, but he wouldn't show any weakness.

He refused to cry.

It wouldn't do him any good anyway.

He felt so powerless. Both physically and mentally. The seastone cuffs drained him of all his energy and the constant injuries they received were the cause of most of it. But, not being able to do anything as they were brought to their doom felt like a thousand bulders piled on his shoulers.

It felt like another five hours before anyone came back on the deck. It was the leader of the slave trader's ship, Silvester.

He despised that man. Not as much as Bluejam though. He would never hate someone as much as he did that fucking pirate.

He glared at Silvester but said nothing. Anything he said would be used as another reason to beat them. He, Ace, and Luffy learned that the hard way during the few weeks that they were on the ship.

His silence paid off when Silvester only shot him a glare back and went back to his own musings.

Someday, he hoped that he would be able to run free again.

That he would be able to play around a forest.

To eat more than a small loaf of bread.

To sleep without having nightmares.

To stop feeling so many stupid emotions.

But life just wouldn't let them go, would it? It was a sadistic bastard.

Just one look at the three brothers would be enough to tell that they had lost all hope. Their eyes were lifeless, the way they lowered their heads in resignation. It was clear they saw no hope in a happy ending for them. They were stuck in a fucked up world without any sane person.

With every minute that passed, they drew closer to the place of broken dreams. They didn't want to go there, but they couldn't do anything about it. They could only just wait until they arrived.

They couldn't help themselves.

No one was coming to save them.

They were alone.

They were stuck.

Forever.

* * *

 **So, I think this is going to be the only chapter with them with the slave traders. I really want to hurry up and get to the WBP, so yeah. Also, I want to ask whether I should do a time skip to the WBP or not.**

 **Whaaa/Wheee:** **Yup, ace is going to stop hating himself the best he can, but he can never just get rid if a way of thinking. I'm going** **to try and make it as sweet as possible.**

 **THANK YOU SO MUCH! I didn't know I did such a good job on Bluejam. Thank you!**


	12. Cry

**Thank you 1andonlyjack, Caraline Fisher, Shandar1, UnderTakerxXxMadnesS, Whaaa/Wheee and OnePieceDoesExist for reviewing!**

 **I don't own one piece.**

* * *

Luffy winced as he shot up from his sleeping position. He clutched the bloodstained shirt he wore with one hand right over his heart.

Another nightmare.

Why couldn't they just go away? He already had to enough to worry about. What was the point of bad dreams?

Ace and Sabo were still asleep. There were beads of sweat running down their foreheads. He heard a sharp gasp for air come from Ace.

It was probably a good time to wake them up.

He went to shake them awake but was beat to waking them when the door to the cell they were in was slammed open.

They had been stuffed in the cell a few days before. The slavers didn't even bother to tie them to something because they couldn't do anything against then anyway with the seastone cuffs.

Ace and Sabo jerked up into a shooting position at the loud noise. Both became aware immediately and tensed.

Silvester was the one that came in, idly shutting the for behind him as he sat down cross-legged in front of the three. There was a large brown book in his hands that he rested in his lap while passively flicking through the pages.

The three brothers watched with uneasiness. Silvester was always trying to find ways to torment them mentally or emotionally.

He would always try to get on their nerves, by telling them that no one cared that they were gone or doing something or eating a feast right in their faces. He always succeeded in angering him and Ace. Sabo was the best at keeping his anger in check.

Whatever Silvester was doing was another attempt.

"Hmm." The slave trader mumbled as he looked up and straight at Ace. Luffy and Sabo grew stiff and moved closer to said freckled boy as if trying to protect him. "Mera-Mera No Mi, right?" He asked. They nodded with hesitation. He grinned and looked back at the book. "A logia. Allows the user to create, control, and turn into fire." He started.

Luffy stared at him like he was an idiot. Actually, he probably was. Who would tell a devil fruit user all the things they could do and think that they wouldn't try to kill him with it when they got chance?

"The flames can also be used to bolster the kinetic force of physical attacks. They are also able to avoid normal attacks by turning into fire and allowing the attack to pass through their can create devastating fire-based attacks and gain a high resistance towards most heat-based attacks."The man continued.

Luffy looked over at Ace with well-hidden worry. Ace was looking down so he couldn't see his face, no doubt he was feeling guilty about his power.

Damn it. Why couldn't Ace be a normal boy that wasn't self-hating. He wished Ace didn't feel so angry with himself.

He wanted Ace to be happy and cheerful. He wanted to see a smile on his face.

But he ruined the chances of seeing that anytime soon.

Soon, Silvester was finished with the description of Ace's devil fruit and he turned the page a few times before confirming Sabo's fruit. "Iki-Iki No Mi?" He smiled when a nod came from the boy and started with the second fruit. "A paramecia. Allows user to control the air in a cube of space. The size of the cube depends on the user's practice." Luffy listens intently to the man, taking every detail of what he was saying. He could tell that Sabo was doing the same. "The user does not need to breathe. But I'm sure you already noticed that." He didn't wait for them to say anything as he went on to Luffy's devil fruit.

"Yure-Yure No Mi. A paramecia. The user can see spirits, and is the only one that can be possessed completely." Luffy raised his eyebrow. "The user can also see how and when someone dies depending on what it is."

So that's what that was. He remembered seeing a little box with a few dates written on it floating around people. He never saw anything other than dates, though.

He never thought it was anything important so he didn't mention it to Ace or Sabo. Not did he tell them that the ghosts looked the exact was they did when they died, all the blood and gore included. But that was for a whole different reason.

He didn't want them to worry about him. Of he told then that he was seeing those things every day, they would almost certainly worry. He didn't need or want any pity. He wasn't so weak that he would go crying to his brothers about 'Oh-so-scary' ghosts. It was just a little blood, anyone could handle that.

Whatever Silvester was trying to do to anger them with, it was really not working. The only one that got a little damage was Ace, who had already recovered the most he could, and was listening intently just like him and Sabo.

The devil fruits powers could be a way out for them as long as they found a way to get rid of the seastone.

But how long did it take to master the power? They had a week or so before because Bluejam was an idiot and didn't have seastone, but Sabo was the only one that really did anything. Sabo practiced a lot, learning everything he could, but he could hardly control it at all.

He himself, had no idea what he could do with his devil fruit. So he had nothing to practice. He would just sit there trying to think of something his fruit did. And so fat all he knew he could do, was see ghosts and when people died. What a useful power. Not.

Ace wouldn't even think about using his powers. With the guilt of scaring him when he accidentally let his flame out, and his own fear of fire, he hated his power and avoided using it like the plague.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Silvester started reading again. "The user can also possess people themselves. But they like to avoid doing so, reasons unknown."

Finally, something cool he could do. But why not wanting to use it? Did it have done kind of side effect?

"You do realize that you're telling is the very ways we could kill you?" He heard Sabo question next to him. He had to nod his head in agreement.

Silvester smiled in a way that would be one of a loving father, had it not been for the malicious look in his eyes. "How does it feel knowing that you could have easily gotten away if you just knew these simple things earlier?"

Fuck. He was right.

If they just knew what they could do earlier than they would have been able to learn easier and then they would just be out. It was as simple as that. The small amount of information that they lacked cost them a great much.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that your eldest brother is too much of a pansy to do anything." The man said with his innocent smile still plastered on his face.

Luffy felt all of his blood rise to his head. No one, and he meant NO ONE, could insult his brother like that. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, YOU GODDAMNED MOTHERFUCKER!" He screamed at him as he sent a punch at his jaw. To his liking, he hit square in his face. But Silvester hardly flinched as he glared at him.

Luffy hardly heard Sabo yelling insults at the slave trader too. Luffy didn't try to listen what Sabo was saying. All he cared about was getting another punch in at the bastard's face. And so he did. One after another he hit the man, but he got no reaction but a glare until he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He flew back into the far side wall with a loud thud.

That hurt more than Bluejam's hits.

He couldn't get up, or move for that matter. He really wanted to kill that man, no, he wanted to kill everybody that hurt his brothers. He was supposed to help his brothers when they were hurting, but he couldn't do anything other than give him a wreak punch. What kind of brother was he?

A failure, that's what.

"Now listen here you little devils." Silvester's voice sounded out. "I'm going to let you off easy because were close to Sabaody, but don't try this shit again." And he walked out.

He felt Sabo help him up into a sitting position. He mumbled a 'thanks' to his brother and looked at Ace.

Said boy was curled up with his knees to his chest. Luffy was so angry. Ace was doing it again all because of Silvester.

He should have hit that bastard harder.

"Ace, stop it right now." He demanded. His brother looked at him with miserable eyes.

"Stop what?"

Luffy clenched his fists. "Stop blaming yourself for all of this!"

"You know very well that I could have done something!" Ace shouted.

"Tell me, what the fuck could you do!?"

"I could have burned down that shity ship, along with all those bastards on it!"

Luffy snarled and glared hard at Ace, who returned it with the same force. "And then what!? Have Sabo find a boat that's not burning along with the rest of the ship, get it out, and then drag our sorry asses onto it because we have a goddammed trauma!?" Ace seemed to only get angrier with every word that he said.

"Well if it all turned out like that, then yes! Btu we both know that's impossible!"

"And you, you bastard, just contradicted yourself!"

"Well, you seem to be completely chill with the idea of being sold! Maybe you want us to get so-"

'SHUT THE FUCK UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Ace stopped abruptly when Sabo loudly interrupted him. Both he and Ace looked at their blond brother with shock. Sabo's whole face was red with anger and you could see slightly watery eyes. "Just shut up..." Sabo grabbed both of their shirts, clutching it like a lifeline. "I hate seeing you two like this..." Sabo lowered his head as tears spilt out of his eyes, both he and Ace saw the water droplets fall to the ground.

Luffy felt like he'd been shot. He made his brother cry. He hurt his brother.

"Please... Just stop... I can't watch this." The older brothers wore a pained expression as they listened. "I can't watch brothers fall apart like this... We're supposed to inseparable... If this keeps on going, then our bond will be broken..." He paused has he held in a sob. The raven haired brothers felt a few stray tears fall down their faces. "If our bond if broken... THEN WHAT KIND OF BROTHER"S ARE WE!?" Luffy

Luffy grabbed both of his brothers and pulled them into a hug. Ace did the same thing.

That day, all three cried like the children they were.

* * *

 **O** **K,** **so you know how in the last chapter, I said that that would probably be the only chapter with the slaveres? Well, forget I ever said that. I completely forgot a few things that I had to write. So maybe two more chapters (including this one.)**

 **Oh, and also, of no one noticed already, I have been going back and forth with who's POV it is in. If you ever want, you can tell me which POV you want and I'll probably do it.**

 **Shandar1:** **In chapter 3, with Bluejam it said quote; 'but first, he needed to make a call and raise the prices for the boys.'**

 **If you were thinking that Bluejam found the DF's before he kidnapped them, he didn't. He found them on the way, that's why he started the price at 20,000 beri.**

 **But I'm totally fine with the bastard being interpreted as an idiot.**

 **Thanks for reviewing.**

 **OnePieceDoesExist:** **Oh no, it's not going to be rushed in the slightest. Ant the WBP aren't going to save ASL at all...** **Well, you'll see.**

 **I can't wait to include the flaming chicken!**

 **Thank's for reviewing!**


	13. Father

**Thank you 1andonlyjack, AndurilofTolkien, Whaaa/Wheee, Caraline Fisher and UnderTakerxXxMadnesS for reviewing!**

* * *

Sabo smiled dimly as he set Ace's head on his lap right next to Luffy's. Both brothers fell asleep a whole earlier, literally cried themselves to sleep.

Sometimes, he really felt like the older brother.

It was good for them to act younger sometimes. They were always trying to act strong -himself included-, but they needed a rest sometimes.

He loved his brothers. They meant the world to him, he wanted them to know that, more than they did already. He wished that his love for them would get rid of their self-worth issues, especially Ace's. But that was impossible. Even if he was surrounded by people that cared for him, Ace would never be able to just lose a thought process.

It was all because of those stupid bastards that were badmouthing Roger that Ace was like that, that Ace thought his existence was a sin all in itself. A child wasn't supposed to grow up like that.

He was so glad he meet Ace and Luffy. He just wished they could go back to their normal life.

"Sabo?" He blinked and looked down at Luffy who now had his eyes open.

"Hm?" He waited for Luffy to say something as his brother pushed himself into a sitting position.

Luffy looked at him with dark eyes and then back at Ace. "I'm sorry..." Was all the boy said as he stared at Ace.

Sabo understood very well and rubbed Ace's head. "It's okay... We all have our moments." He tried to comfort his brother but knew that it did nothing to make him feel any better about what was well aware that both his brothers were feeling guilty about making him cry.

As he rubbed Ace's hair he snorted inwardly.

Really, he should have been the older one of the three.

The two sat silently as the time went by. Sabo looked down at himself and then at his brothers. None of them were looking good, to say the least.

Ace and Luffy's hair had grown a little longer, laying a little lower than their necks. His on the other had was about the length that their's were before being kidnaped. Their hair not very messy or chaotic, surprisingly, but it was grimy via no showers.

Their clothes had been replaced after they were handed to the slavers, but that did not mean it was in good shape, at all. They were ripped and bloody. Not the ideal clothes, but better than nothing.

And their arms, legs, torso and just about every part of their body's, save for their heads, were wrapped in dirty bandages. They had been so 'blessed' that they were given anything to treat their injuries, as Silvester had said it. It wouldn't be long before the bandages were gone, though, they were almost done healing. As long as they didn't anger anyone then they would be safe(er).

They were considerably skinnier than they were before. Looked like slightly starved children, but not very starved, they weren't that skinny, which was kind of amazing to Sabo because of how much they usually ate to what they were given now.

They'd been spending their days either sitting around, training, or being tormented by bastards. They started training again so that if they ever found a way they could get out of this then they would actually be able go through with it, but the seastone made it really hard to do that because it drained so much of their energy.

He looked down when Ace finally stirred. After a moment Ace opened his eyes and gazed at him before sitting up. "Good morning Ace." Sabo said pleasantly. He watched his brother give him a guilty look and then go back his natural face (that actually looked angry) and nodded at him.

"Good morn'n." His voice sounded strained as talked. "When did I fall asleep?.."He asked.

"A little after chapter twelve." He returned with a sad smile. The freckled boy nodded again and they fell into silence.

Sabo honestly didn't know what to say, none of them did. It was actually kind of awkward for him, for whatever reason

It had been a while later when a word was uttered, the one speaking being Sabo, who noticed a look on Luffy's face that said he was thinking really hard, he was acually glaring at the wall in front of his as if he would be able to get an answer from it. "What're you thinking about, Luffy?" He asked the boy, who literally jumped out of his brain. Ace looked over at them with curiosity.

"I-I was just thinking!" The raven haired boy stuttered out.

"Clearly." Ace and Sabo deadpanned.

Luffy brought his gaze down to the ground. "I..." He started. "I think It's about time... I told you..." Sabo felt his worry rise as Luffy spoke.

"Tell us what?" He asked in a soft voice. Next to him, Ace was staring intently, waiting for Luffy to continue.

Luffy gave them a weak smile when he looked back at them. "I shouldn't be hiding anything from you, after all." Sabo felt shame. He and Ace were hiding Ace's father from him, and he hid his parents from them before. Luffy bit his lip. "I- my I- I mean..."

Sabo leaned forward and put a hand on Luffy's shoulder. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." He said though he and Ace were seriously curious. Ace shot him a short glare.

"No." Luffy brought a hand up to his straw hat. Sabo recognized that action as something Luffy did when he didn't feel safe or when he was scared. "I have to know if you'll accept me."

He felt a pang in his heart at his words. Accept him? What did he take them for? Of course they would accept him. Did he really not trust them?

Next to him Ace clenched his fists. "The hell are you talking about?" The raven haired boy demanded.

Luffy started trembling as he tried to find his voice. "I'm... I'm the son of the revolutionary Dragon."

Sabo and Ace were stunned frozen. "Y-you can't be serious." Sabo immediately regretted his words when he saw Luffy flinch and stiffen as if he was preparing for a hit.

Damn it! Luffy was just like Ace. He was the son of a wanted man, and knew it, very well.

"Lu..." He started. He needed to fix his mistake.

Luffy didn't listen or didn't hear him with his hat hiding his eyes. "I'm sorry I- I shouldn't have bothered you with my presence."

He really needed to fix it. "Lu, I didn't mean it like that..." Luffy didn't move. He turned to Ace who was still stuck in his shock. "Ace, can we tell him?"

Said boy jumped and looked at him, after a moment, he mumbled a 'yeah'. He gave him a look that said 'you tell him', Ace glared for a moment before he turned back to Luffy with nervousness.

"L-Luffy." Ace moved to sit right in front of Luffy. "It's not just you." Luffy shot his head up to look at his brother.

Sabo was surprised Ace even got that far with telling Luffy. He honestly thought he would have to tell him even if Ace tried himself.

"My father is _Gold Roger_." He could hear the scorn that sounded out in the name.

And now that everything was out it felt even more awkward than before. But what were they supposed to say after that? Oh, that's great, now let's go back to pitying ourselves! Yeah, no way.

Nothing was said the rest of that day(?) they just sat there and thought about the new information.

* * *

 **This chapter was REALLY hard to write, I don't know why it just was, and I hated writing it. I never want to write it again, sereously, THE WORST!**

 **1andonlyjack: If you're are talking about my answer to OnePiaceDoesExist, then I was just saying that because they said they were excited to see Marco. I am excited to bring him into the story, and he is the first one they meet, though, he's not going to save them.**

 **Whaaa/Wheee: I'm so glad I did a good job making it emotional. I can't feel any emotion to my own writing so it means a lot to me to know that it was written in the way I wanted it to be.**

 **Yes, Silvester was an idiot for telling them that. It won't come back to bite him, but it will everyone else.**

 **I would tell you why they avoid possessing people, but that would be a spoiler for later, so I'll just say that they really don't like it.**

 **It's going to be about... nine chapters at least (wow, that's more than I thought) until they get out. It'll be more than that if don't do a time skip... I think... Not making any promises.**

 **(If you said anything more after the point of saying you wanted them to get out, well, the thing was stupid and wouldn't let me see the rest of it, so, sorry.)**

 **Thanks for reviewing!**


	14. Sold!

**Thank you 1andonlyjack, Whaaa/Wheee, AndurilofTolkien, Trich, and ScandinavianTrash fro reviwing!**

* * *

Sabo kept his head low as he walked into the auction room.

He felt so exposed and vulnerable in front of all those people. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of people in the audience.

It made him sick to think that so many people, -no, demons- would buy humans.

He bit his lip when the auctioneer started talking. "For our next item, we have a young child, and not only will he last longer because of his young age, but he is also a devil fruit user! That's right, he has the Iki-Iki No Mi and is capable of controlling air!"

He snorted. He couldn't control the air at all, he could only send it flying in random directions.

The auctioneer seemed to hear the snort when he continued. "He even has an attitude that will only serve as more fun to break!" It felt like he was mocking him. Sabo couldn't understand how someone could look so proud of themselves as they did something like that.

Humans really were desisting creatures.

"Now, let's start the price at... One million!" immediately, the bidding started and the prices were raised.

Disgusting.

They were all disgusting.

He bit his lip as another number was called.

It was officially the moment that his life would become a living hell.

He was scared.

Terrified.

He wanted to cry. But he wouldn't do that. He'd cried enough, too much actually.

He cried twice too many times. The first, when he was taken by his parents, and the second when Ace and Luffy were arguing.

Crying was overrated and stupid.

He hated it.

He truly wished it was all just a bad dream. That he would wake up and go back to his normal life.

It wasn't a dream, he knew that.

This was his life.

"Sold!"

He was pulled backstage by the chain connected to his color.

He was a slave. His brothers were slaves. They were slaves.

* * *

Ace glared at the crowd of people in front of him.

He was mad, furious, but most definitely afraid.

He wanted to march up to that stupid auctioneer and kick him in the dick. Had it not been for the fact that it would do him more bad than good, he probably would.

He was hardly even listening to the auctioneer at all, only catching a few thing. He couldn't focus on what was being said, he actually found it hard to focus on anything. Everything was just happening in a large blur.

He wasn't sure of he should be glad or mad about the fact that he was hardly aware of what was happening.

If he was, then he would most likely be hating this more than he already did.

They were all just goddamned bastards.

He hated them all.

Every one of them.

"And he has the ability to control fire!" The auctioneer sounded out.

And of course, that had to be the only thing he understood from the stupid monologue the auctioneer was making about him.

Everything was shoving that fucking power in his face.

He despised those damn flames. He already hated fire to begin with, and then he scared Luffy with them.

And those flames were a part of him.

He was literally made of his most hated thing.

Just another reason he shouldn't have been born.

Bluejam ruined his life and the lives of his brothers.

If he ever meet that bastard again he was going to burn him alive just like he did to all those people at the grey terminal.

He was really afraid of becoming a slave.

He just wanted to be free.

"Sold!"

That dream was long gone and broken

* * *

Luffy bit his lip while he waited behind stage for his turn to be sold.

If he remembered correctly it was a giant that was up there at that moment. Sabo had been sold two 'items' earlier and had been thrown back into his cage, Ace was sold right after him.

He hated everyone here. Thay were all fucking sadists.

"Bring number twenty-three out." He heard one of the workers say from outside of the large cage he sat in. They workers strode inside and the young woman that was sitting a few crates away from him.

She looked up with fear at the men. "NO! NO! DON'T TAKE ME!" They ignored her pleas and dragged her away by the chain on her color. "NO! I DON'T WANT TO BE A SLAVE!" He flinched at the desperation in her voice, she still had a sliver of hope, otherwise, she wouldn't be screaming. He, on the other hand, had lost it all. "SOMEONE! PLEASE SAVE ME, SOMEONE!"

Don't listen. Don't listen. She didn't concern him. She's just another person. He can't help her anyway.

He's just a weak kid.

He didn't even notice another number being called, or even that any time passed at all until he was being pulled out himself.

He bit his lip harder as he stepped out onto the stage.

"And here it is! Number twenty-four!" The auctioneer called out. All the audience was cheering and shouting. "And our third child devil fruit user! Can you believe it!?" The crowd cheered louder. "That's right! He has the Yure-Yure No Mi! Do you know what that means!?" He didn't wait as he continued. "Correct! He is capable of seeing when and how you die! Now that's just bizarre, but it's true! You never know when you're going to die, what better than to get a boy who can tell you just that!?"

Luffy tried not to listen as the auctioneer tried to sell him. He didn't want to hear any of it. It scared him, every word he said scared him.

"Now how about we start the price at two million!?" The audience started shouting numbers as soon as the words were said.

He didn't want to hear it.

He hated it.

He hated it.

"SOLD!"

* * *

 **Whaaa/Wheee: I get the reviews through an email and it cut off part of it. And they've been delayed if you look now you'll see the review you sent from chapter 11, I don't know why though, it's confusing.**

 **Thanks for reviewing!**


	15. We'll Meet Again

**Thank you ScandinavianTrash, Whaaa/Wheee, and RhoswenCartel for reviewing!**

* * *

Ace tapped at the bomb color around his neck with annoyance.

That was the only thing keeping him, Luffy, and Sabo from running away. Not only that, but it was extremely uncomfortable. It felt like it would choke him if it was any tighter.

He looked over at Sabo who was just staring at the cell's bars with dim eyes.

He wanted to see that bright light in his brother's eyes.

They had all lost that light the moment they accepted their fate. The light was their dreams, and their dreams were gone so the light was gone too.

That still didn't stop him from wanting to see it, though.

He tensed when the cell door opened and glared. Luffy was pushed into the room by one of the workers.

"You'll be staying here until your owner is ready to leave." He told Luffy, just like he and Sabo were told when they entered.

Luffy simply plopped himself in the corner of the room next to him not even bothering to say a word.

Ace didn't want to talk either, nor did Sabo. Not a word had been said since they were put back together. But what would they say anyway? There wasn't much to say after getting sold other than 'I want to die'.

He knew they were all thinking that, even if they themselves said otherwise. He doubted there was anyone who wouldn't want to die after what was happening, and they were no exceptions. It was a miracle all in itself that they hadn't killed themselves already.

He would've done it without a second thought if it hadn't been for Luffy and Sabo.

If he spent as long as he did with them without them, then he wouldn't have a reason to live. The only reason he kept living before he met either one of them was because he wanted to make a name for himself, to give everyone a real reason to hate him, to prove them wrong.

Now he had two more things to give him life.

And he loved them.

* * *

Sabo wanted to disappear into the air. He wanted to fly free into the air. He wanted to live for once in his life.

Why couldn't life understand that?

No, he was sure it knew that, it just didn't give a shit.

He just hoped that their owner wouldn't be too hard on them.

Yeah, what a joke. Child or adult, they could work and that's all that mattered.

Wait.

Owner... Owner... Owner?

He felt panic rise to his heart at rapid rates.

No. He had to be wrong. He had to.

"No."

He was wrong, just overthinking things. Life couldn't do that to them, it was just too wrong.

"Sabo, what do you mean?" He snapped his head to the side, Ace and Luffy were looking at him with curiosity and worry.

Shit, he didn't realize he said that out loud.

He put a hand to his head. "I- I have to be wrong." He wasn't expecting that to come out of his mouth, he was planning on just telling them like that, but for some reason, he just didn't. "Do either of you know who b-bought you?" God, he could just tell them straight out and save too much trauma.

Both shook their heads. "No idea." Luffy answered.

Sabo closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see their faces. "I-I think we might have been bought by different people."

There was complete silence after that.

He didn't want to see the faces of his brothers as they heard something like that, it would haunt him forever to know that he was the cause of such a look.

His fears were met when the door was opened. "Number twenty-one, your owner is ready to pick you up." The worker stated.

That was Ace.

They couldn't take Ace.

Ace was their brother, they couldn't be separated in this hell.

They couldn't do that to them.

Luffy was the first up and standing in front of Ace protectively, getting his fight back the first time in a long time. "Like hell, you're taking him!" He shouted.

Sabo followed Luffy's example and stepped in front of Ace while all three of them got in battle stances. He doubted Ace like being the one in the back, but he'd have to deal with it. "Ace isn't going anywhere!"

The worker sighed and three more came to his side. "God, we shouldn't have put them in the same cells." He mumbled though everyone heard him. All four of the workers stepped into the cage.

Sabo kicked one of them in the shin while Ace punched another in the stomach and Luffy used his own leg to trip another. The only worker standing tried to make a grab at Ace but Ace dodged it with ease and used the moment to hit the guy in the back and push him to the ground.

By the time the fourth was on the ground the two of the three were back up, the one still down was clutching his shin in pain.

Sabo really hated the shackles that were restraining most of their movements.

Luffy pulled one of them back to the ground by his arm and then proceeded to stomp on his back to make sure he would stay down longer. Sabo was glad that they had been training at that moment. He grabbed the fourth, who was trying to get up, by the arm and pulled it so the man would fall back down.

Ace kicked the last man in balls and all three ran out of the room.

Or tried to run out of the room.

The chain connected to the bomb collar was chained to the wall, and they were stuck while Ace was in danger of being taken away.

Now that he thought about it, they wouldn't even be able to get away because of the stupid bomb.

About fifteen more workers shuffled into the room. Ace and Luffy were in the grasp of the workers before he could do anything.

"Ace! Luffy!" He shouted. Ace was thrown over one of the shoulders of the workers while Luffy was held in front of the man securely, both were struggling hard.

"Number twenty-four's owner is ready too." One of them informed the rest.

Ace tried to kick the one holding him. "Let go of me you bastard!"

Sabo couldn't let them be taken.

He wouldn't be able to survive without them, he needed them.

He couldn't...

"GIVE THEM BACK!" He charged at them only to be brought into the grasp of one them.

"Sabo!" Luffy yelled.

He couldn't...

He was held back as his brothers were taken away.

"HEY! COME BACK HERE! GIVE THEM BACK!"

He wanted to go back.

Back to when they were happy.

He couldn't do anything as they were ripped out from his grasp.

"ACE! LUFFY!" He called through unshed tears. "SOMEDAY! SOMEDAY, WE WILL MEET AGAIN, BACK AT OUR HOME! I PROMISE"

For whatever reason, he knew they heard him.

* * *

 **Wow, this chapter gives me deja vu, can you guess why?**

 **Wheee/Whaaa:** **I know I already said this, but it makes me so happy that you feel emotion when you read my story. Anyway, no I didn't specify if they were going to be together or not, so you didn't miss anything.**

 **I'm glad you understand a little better.**

 **Thanks for reviewing!**

 **RosewenCartel:** **Thanks! For me I just give myself a reward every time I update, I'm also** **addicted to getting reviews, so, yeah...**

 **Thanks for reviewing!**


	16. Gone

**Thank you EnixFairy and Whaaa/Wheee for reviewing!**

* * *

Ace curled up in the corner of the cell room he sat in.

After he was separated from Luffy and Sabo he was thrown into the stupid room. He didn't know what was going to happen next, and he didn't want to know.

He missed his brothers. What was the point of life without them? How could he live without them?

Did he even want to live without them?

That answer was obvious for anyone.

But he wouldn't die, not yet. He wasn't going to die before his brothers, that was against his rules. He would never be the first one to die. He didn't know why, he just hated the idea.

The door slammed open and three men walked in, two gauds and one guy that looked like he was wearing a space outfit.

The space guy was most definitely a celestial dragon and his owner. He despised all celestial dragons. They almost killed Sabo, treat everyone else like they are just a pile of trash worthy of being burned to the ground, and enslaved him, Luffy and Sabo.

He glared but said nothing whatever was happening, he knew very well that talking only made things worse.

A few months ago and he would have already attacked them. Of course, he would be beaten before he would be able to lift a finger, though.

He was weak after all.

He couldn't fight like he used to, and his past self that wasn't lacking all the human needs, food and sleep included, was still incapable of beating them.

They grinned a wide cheshire grin.

He hated it.

He hated that grin. Everything about it was wrong and disgusting.

"Follow, brat." Was all one of the guards said and the dragged him out of the room.

How was he supposed to not follow if they were dragging him? They were complete dumbasses.

He was brought into a dark room, the only light source being a fire that burned in a fireplace, there was a weird metal stick that had one end in the fire.

He paled. Damn it, he completely forgot about that! He remembered when he was asking about who they were going to be sold to Sabo said that they would be branded.

He didn't want that.

Wait, that meant his brothers were going to be branded too. They were going to be branded, they were all alone and about to be branded.

He didn't want his brothers to be alone like that.

He should have been able to stay with them.

The chains around his ankles and wrists were secured to the ground in a way that made him stuck on his hands and knees. "Don't move." One said.

He couldn't even try to move, his body wouldn't listen to him. He couldn't move as the damn celestial dragon grabbed the stick out of the fire, or as it was brought closer to his back, he was too afraid to move.

And the brander was pushed roughly onto his back.

His eyes wide and he screamed as the burning metal burnt his skin. All he felt was pain, an excruciating amount of pain.

It hurt.

It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. The hot metal against his skin was entire awareness was gone and all he knew that he felt like he was being burned alive.

He knew what that felt like, after all, he almost died by fire.

Whatever part of his back was being burnt, he didn't even know, it all hurt, his whole body felt like it was being branded.

He started clawing at the ground until his fingers started to bleed, though he never noticed it.

He didn't know how long the thing was on his back. It felt like it had been there for over an hour.

He just wanted it to disappear.

All of it.

All the while the loud scream never dispersing.

When it was finally removed from him, he was brought back to his cell room, though he hardly even realized he was back, until he hit the cold ground.

He didn't want to go through that ever again. He didn't want his brothers to go through that.

But he couldn't save them earlier, and now they were experiencing that too, maybe they already did.

It didn't matter either way.

He didn't know what to do, with himself, with his emotions, or even his life. Everything was confusing, he just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up, dreaming of him, Luffy, Sabo.

Dreaming of them all becoming pirates and sailing free in the open blue ocean.

Actually, he might do just that.

If he just lived in his head and let his body take over he was a good as alive.

He'll do that, yeah.

The day he found freedom -if it was ever found-, would be the day he came out.

For now, he was...

Gone.

* * *

 **EnixFairy:** **I personally like Luffy being more serious, so yeah... I'm glad you like it.**

 **Actually, now that I think about it, Luffy's DF also reminds me of Kira, I never thought of that before! When he see's how someone will die, lets say they were going to die of a sickness, then the person that was going top die would be able to find a cure and be healed, if they were going to be killed, then they could just lock themselves somewhere safe until they wouldn't die anymore (assuming they were smart enough to bring the DF user with them).**

 **You totally got Sabo's DF perfect! Suffocating them his Sabo's (and mine) favorite move. Lifting people off the ground is another one he likes. (No, I haven't been lifted off the ground, and I'd like it to stay that way.) And a fire tornado, seriously, you got Sabo's DF so perfect it's freaky!**

 **Thank's for reviewing!**


	17. Remember

**Thank you 1andonlyjack, EnixFairyand Whaaa/Wheee for reviewing!**

* * *

Luffy stared blankly at the wall of the cell room.

He didn't sleep at all, that came as good thing to him.

He hated sleeping.

If he slept, then the next day would come sooner. And the sooner the next day came the sooner he would go back.

He was too afraid of tomorrow to sleep. Afraid of having to live another day.

He didn't even remember what he did the day before.

Did he finish the work for the day?

If he didn't, he was in for a huge beating.

He didn't want that again.

He could have been coughing up his intestines if they went any longer last time.

He'd probably have to clean it up after too.

Wouldn't be too much of a job. Actually, it might be fun to clean a little blood and guts up for a change.

He was, in all honesty, spent with following the damn dragon everywhere he went.

It wasn't like he someone would just pop out and try to murder him, or even that he would tell them if he was going to die.

Actually, he couldn't even see if someone was going to die because they didn't have the decency to take off those fucking seastone shackles.

If it was his choice, everyone that lived in the fucking castle-for-a-house would have all died an excruciating death.

He was literally assigned to be the celestial dragon's 'loyal dog'. He would go everywhere he would go unless he didn't leave the 'castle', then he would just do normal work.

Well normal work meaning the normal work one of the actual workers there would do. Not as in a slave worker but like a butler or a maid in some way.

He would start his day by helping the bastard get dressed, get his bath ready and so on. After all the beginning of the day stuff, they would usually go outside doing whatever the guy felt like, if not then he would do cleaning around the 'castle' like a maid would and then at the end of the day, he would go back to being a normal slave and thrown into his cell.

He was probably the only slave that was even allowed in the dragon's room, let alone actually _touch_ him.

Those bastards were cranky about breathing the same air as filth. But he was allowed to touch them.

It disgusted him that he had to be so close to that piece of shit.

One day, he was going to make sure they died.

The dragon had taken a huge liking to him, for whatever disgusting reason that he really didn't want to know.

That was when the door opened.

He didn't even look at who it was as he headed out the room, the person who opened the door following closely. It was just another start to another day.

After a long walk through the 'slave quarters' and 'dragon lair' as he called it, he entered a changing room.

When the doors the room were closed he looked over, and sure enough, there was a pair of clothes laid out on a bench. Filth was not allowed to wear filth in the presence of the 'almighty'.

It was much nicer than the rags he was wearing at that moment, but he hated every bit of them. A pair of black pants and a white long sleeve shirt.

Once finished putting the pants on, he took off his shirt but made no movement to grab the other one. He turned so he could see his back in the mirror that stood in the corner of the room. He frowned. No matter how many times he looked that _mark_ would never disappear.

It was burned a little to his left shoulder, mocking every movement he made.

He hated it. He loathed it.

That brand was a symbol that he was a slave, but more than that, it was a symbol that he was working so close to the worst people in the world.

He was helping scum of the earth.

He really was filth.

Drip.

He looked down, there were a few droplets of blood on the ground. Looking back up he noticed his hand was up and scratching at the brand.

God, he really needed to stop that habit, otherwise, it would never heal completely.

He grabbed his rags-for-a-shirt and wiped the blood of his back and the ground and silently proceeded to finish changing.

Without hesitation, he left the room at sped through the halls. He couldn't afford to be late.

Wait.

He stopped abruptly in the halls.

What was he doing again?

He was supposed to be hurrying somewhere, right?

Just, where?

Where was he anyway? He didn't recognize anything.

Now that he thought about it, he could hardly remember anything.

All he knew was that he lost his freedom...

For some reason, he went to claw at his shoulder. He just hated that spot.

Then he started feeling something.

What was that word again?

Pain.

That's what it was.

And then...

Damn it! He had to hurry if he was planning on not getting beat!

He started running again.

He'd rather they just kill him.

He wanted to die and he kept on forgetting things.

But he couldn't die.

He had something he needed to live for.

...What was it?

* * *

 **Whaaa/Wheee:** **(I did get the** **review.) Yup, Ace is doing exactly what you're thinking, you got pretty spot on with that.**

 **You are right to fear! (HAHAHAHAH)**

 **Thanks for reviewing!**

 **EnixFairy:** **I understand where you're coming from. I have 1 sister, and she means everything to me! The best thing ever (though I do like to make fun of her). It really is great to have close siblings, we are** **probably the closest anyone could ever get (so much so that we sleep together when we felt like it). I hate being separated from her.**

 **So about 4 years maybe? I think I'm going to one more chapter for each of them and then one for each of their escapes.**

 **OMG! YOU'RE PHYSIC! I SWEAR IT ON MY LIFE! You talking about Sabo's Df and how it's ironic... Well, that's exactly what I was going to talk about in the next chapter... So... PHYSIC!**

 **So for Luffy, the ghosts aren't interested in helping him out, they will a little but not much, you'll see.**

 **Thanks for reviewing!**


	18. Slave

**Hey guys, sorry I didn't update yesterday, I got sick and ended up sleeping the whole day without writing a word of this chapter, I didn't mean to get sick, blame it on life.**

 **So for anyone wondering, the ASL trio aren't going to be saved. Just want to clarify. It's gotten a little awkward to always answer that question, makes me feel like I crushed all of their hopes and dreams (not that that's a bad thing, hehe), anyway, just so you know.**

 **Thank you Flowerbelle, UnderTakerxXxMadnesS, Wheee/Whaaa and ScandinavianTrash for reviewing!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own one piece.**

* * *

Sabo didn't know what he was doing anymore.

There was once a saying; Never stop hoping. Never stop trying, because one day, you will find what you're looking for.

What a joke.

That was a fucking lie.

Not everyone had such 'miracles' in their lives. Miracles were fake, nonexistent.

That much should be obvious for anyone who spent so long waiting for one. But some just never gave up in their stupidity. Looking for a key was his way of saying that he believed in them. He smiled.

Lying to himself like this was wrong. If there was a way to get out he would have already found a way. Finding a key for his bomb collar was impossible. If he did, it would be because some idiot would drop it right in front of him and not notice. But that was a hopeless possibility. Nobody could be dumb. And therefore he was in here for the rest of his meaningless life.

He'd ran away from his work so he could try and find a key so many times, only to come out empty-handed and be found and get some kind of beating for leaving his work. Whipping, the pit, burning, pouring salt or sand on his wounds, there were too many types of punishment that he went through to name, all because of a false hope.

He smiled.

He was done.

He was so goddamned done.

He hated every bit of the punishments, they were cruel, it was disgusting to think that people could be to cold-hearted. But that was the nature of humans, so he needed to get used to it.

The 'pit' was by far the worst to him. It was a deep hole -hence the name 'pit'- that they would throw him in, the inside had needles sticking out from every inch of it. If needles stabbing every part of his body -sans his head- wasn't enough, he had an immense trauma of all dark and claustrophobic places via his parents, and the 'pit' had not even a sliver of light seeping into it whatsoever.

Unluckily for him, they found out about this fear of his and used that as his usual punishment. Though after every one, they would take away his food for a few days.

Not that he even wanted to eat it. Food seemed to disgust him in every way. Even when he was given his food (hardly anything at all) he would just push it away. He had no desire to eat, and as far as he cared, he didn't need food. The last time he looked at food he gagged. Clearly not something he needed.

He didn't even understand why humans needed to eat. To him, it was overrated and stupid. He was surviving perfectly well without that stuff. Sure, he got skinier, why was that any different? It was just a little change of appearance, nothing to be concerned about. All those that said people needed to eat three meals every day were crazy.

The last thing he remembered eating was Bluejam's devil fruit. He knew he ate after that, he just didn't know what or when.

It was ironic really. He had the power to control air, the element with the most freedom. He could control it. The one person that could use air was a slave, where was the sense in that? Answer, there was no sense. Sense and reality don't mix. And that's why he was a slave while he had the power of something free.

He hoped that one day he would be able to use his power again. Even if was just for an hour. He loved the air. He loved how free it felt, how free it smelt. It was the only free thing in the world.

The closest things to being free were pirates, that's why he, Ace and Luffy wanted to be one, among other reasons. But even then, pirates weren't completely free, the only thing that was, was air.

And he was a slave. He had to put all his dreams and passion for things at a hold for the rest of his life, because he was a slave.

He wondered what Ace and Luffy were doing. Probably not much. There weren't many things you could do as a slave. Only work and sit in your cell either sleeping or thinking. Of course, there were the few who managed to train under their noses, himself included.

His brothers could do that too, but they might not, he wouldn't be surprised either way. If they were training, good for them, they have something to do, if not, then what did it matter.

He wanted to see his brothers again. He would meet them again when he died, though. Just had to wait until the day that he died.

He was going to waste the little life he had left in him before they died too if he kept on going like this, with his stupid 'hope'.

This was his last day like that.

The smile turned to a large grin.

From now on he was a little slave boy, that was it. Not a Nobel, not a brother, not Sabo. He was a just a slave and nothing more.

* * *

 **And here's to another ridiculously short chapter! Yay... Ugh.**

 **ScandinavianTrash:** **Nah, they ain't going to be saved. They're gonna get out themselves. I think about 4 to 6 chapters. Hopefully, 4.**

 **EnixFairy: So, um... I the last chapter in my answer to your last review I wrote 'physic' instead of 'psychic' (is embarrassed), just saying.**


	19. Bored

**Thank you Whaaa/Wheee, Flowerbelle, ScandinavianTrash, and Freerunner4427 for reviewing!**

 **Question of the chapter: Who is your favorite dead character!?**

 **Mine has definitely got to be Thatch! He's just the best! I love how childish he can get yet so serious when he needs to be.**

 **(Ace, Luffy, Sabo: Age 12)**

* * *

To say that the hallway of where the slaves stayed was creepy was an understatement. The people that had to guard it knew that all too well.

Especially Jim. Having been the one that had to take care of all of the one that killed or were trying to kill themselves, he knew it was really creepy.

Not that he was a pansy. It was just a little unsettling to walk through a dark, stoned hallway where a whole bunch of depressed people would stay.

And God, when you looked inside one of the cells you would be meet with the image of a person Skinny to the bone, huddled in the corner, bit they would look at you with these dead pleading eyes, yet they held the most hate he'd ever seen in anyone's eyes.

He didn't necessarily care about them at all. Their eyes just scared him, though he would never tell anyone that.

As he strode through the corridor, with only a few lamps to light it, he couldn't help but fell like he was being watched. That, was an obvious. He wouldn't be surprised of all of the slaves in the spot he was were starting at him.

He speed up his pace. He just didn't want to be there anymore.

This must be why his sister always called him a wuss.

Finally, he reached the end where a door stood awaiting his entrance. He pushed it open with haste and smiled. Inside there was a simple wooden table sitting in the middle with a few chairs that were occupied by others. The only thing he really cared about was that it had actual lighting, a nice bright room was exactly what he needed.

"Hey Jim." One of the occupants of the chairs greeted. He returned his greeting with a 'hey' of his own and planted himself in the last open chair.

"So, Dan," He started to his friend. 'Dan' wasn't really his name, just a nickname for 'Daniel' that he made up. "How's things on your side?" He asked. While he had the job of all the dead and dying people, Dan would split the slaves up for their respective work every day.

"Not much. The same old thing." Dan sighed. "It gets so boring so quickly! I wish someone would just try to escape when I opened their cells already!" He complained.

The others in the room started snickering and some all out laughing. There were a few resounding voices of 'come on Dan!', and "seriously? why would you wish for such a thing?'

He himself was laughing a little. "I don't think you'd really want that when it actually happened."

Dan made a pout face and put his elbow on the table resting his cheek in a cupped hand. "I know~ But it's just so dull around here!"

Dan was more childish than anyone was, though he was definitely not the youngest. Jim and many others found his childishness refreshing after a hard day of work. "So I guess that means things have been going well for you?" He didn't wait for an answer. "There haven't been any suicidal slaves yet, so i'm good too."

"I've been doing well too!" One shouted.

"We weren't talking about how we were doing, we were talking about work." He deadpanned. Though he was ignored as people started how they were doing, both work and self. Some even started talking about their family.

But everything went silent when Dave, who was in charge of rounding the slaves up to start their work, spoke up. "Well, if anyone's wondering, I've been having some trouble with one of those brats." Was all he said for the rest of the people in the room to be starring at him intently.

They (himself included) reminded him of a whole bunch of mothers spreading gossip around to help another dull day.

No one had anything better to do anyway. They all finished their shifts for the first half of the day and were bored out of their minds and would wish they were still working. Though, when working, they would say otherwise.

Dave sighed as he started talking. "There's this one boy..." They leaned closer. "That literally listens to nothing I say. I swear, he doesn't even hear anything!"

"Do continue." Jim said when Dave paused for a moment.

"Well, there was one time, I called him but he didn't answer, didn't even seem to notice me there." Dave continued.

There were a few that shared confused glances before one -Jen, was it?- spoke. "Which slave is it?" She asked.

Dave put a hand to his chin in a thinking pose. "Number thirty-one. I think his name was Spade? Maybe Ace? Yeah I think it was Ace."

Jen seemed satisfied and went back to listening

"Anyway, the kids really weird... I kind of lost my train of thought..." And they went back to their boring silence.

* * *

 **I really had no idea what to write for this chapter so it just ended up like this.**

 **And i don't want to hear anything about this chapter being shit, because this whole fanfiction is shit. So if you read this far then give yourself a flame because you're the one that decided to red this far.**

 **And before anyone says anything, no, Jim, Daniel, Dave, nor Jen have nothing to do with this story. So don't ask.**


	20. I Wish

_**I AM SO SORRY!**_

 **I really meant to update the very next day, but life just got in the way! My days were SO busy, I swear, there wasn't even a moment of rest for me, so I didn't even get more than five-hundred words for the past few days.**

 **And I have been so scatterbrained lately, I recently noticed that I forgot a few responses to some of my reviews, I'm so sorry, so, so, so, so sorry!**

 **Thank you ScandinavianTrash, Whaaa/Wheee, ASL addict1, Flowerbelle and Caraline Fisher for reviewing!**

* * *

 **(ASL: Age 13)**

"Spill it, brat."

Luffy barely flinched as he kneeled in front of the Celestial Dragon. He kept his gaze to the floor, not wanting to even look at him, he didn't want to think about it, and that man would bring everything back to him, just his voice was enough to terrify him.

Unfortunately for him, seeing the Dragon's death 'info' required moving his gaze to him.

Why did humans have to be so greedy and disgusting? What was the point of preventing your life from ending if it will end eventually anyway? A few more years or so living was hardly worth anything. So what was the point?

He hated that humans cared as much as they do about themselves. And his owner was no exception to that selfishness.

So, every once in a while he would be forced to tell his the status of his life. He would be placed in front of him while one of the two guards would remove his seastone cuffs so he could actually see something. He would usually use that chance to practice his powers in a chance to escape, and so far it was doing well, but it took a while to try and possess someone (he hadn't succeeded yet) and his master was not one of patience, at all.

If he took to long then he would receve some kind of punishment, the first of which left him unable to move for a long while, but he still had to work that day. After. though they -or more like the Dragon- decided on a new type of punishment, one much more enjoyable for the Dragon.

And that left him with the reason he wasn't trying to use his powers. He was too damn afraid.

Quickly he looked up at the space-suit wearing demon at the reminder, cringing while trying to keep back a flashback. And he started reading the contents of the box next to the Celestial Dragon out loud. "Date of death: XXXX, cause: sickness..." He said quietly.

He felt a hard kick in his stomach but made no moment at all while in his kneeling position, only letting a slight gasp for breath. He did something wrong. Whatever it was.

The Dragon looked down at him with scorn. "Listen, you little devil, 'sickness' is not nearly enough information."

Luffy hid the growl that was coming up his throat. Just the last week he was going to be killed, yet that didn't seem to matter at all to him, he could at least not be such an ungrateful bastard. No. that was too much to ask of a human, let alone a world Noble.

But, he focussed harder on the small box nonetheless. If he didn't find anything... He didn't want to think about it. To his luck, a few more words were written there that were too small for him to see from the start. "Exact time: 2:23 pm. Three years. Heart failure..." He hoped dearly that that was enough information. But the Celestial Dragon didn't look satisfied. And he knew then that his fate was sealed.

He Lowered his head and tried to hide the tremble that was wracking his body but failed. He really wished that he was dead. He didn't have anything to live for, he was empty, so why couldn't he just be dead? Whatever happened before he was a slave was long forgotten, he hated himself for forgetting it.

It felt wrong of him to forget, it felt like he was betraying someone. Maybe he was betraying someone, no, not just one person, he knew there were three people that he should remember.

His straw hat was the only thing he had tied to his memories. Whatever the hat represented was extremely important to him, and he forgot it. He didn't even wear the hat anymore, he didn't want to. He tucked it away in the corner of his cell room so he wouldn't have to remember.

It was almost funny, he was trying to remember, he felt bad for not remembering, yet, whenever he came close to the thing that would help him he would jerk away from it, like he was afraid of whatever promise he broke.

And, he knew that he was.

He always took his promises seriously, he knew he did. And breaking one was against his personal rules, so the fact that he not only broke one but couldn't even remember it left a really bad taste in his mouth.

And then there were the two boys that he would recall every once in a while. He felt an urge to see them every time he did, and then he felt ashamed, again, because he forgot them.

Despite the need to see them, he had no idea who they were, what part they played in his short, insignificant life. The furthest he knew was that they were precious to him, and that they were also slaves.

He hoped that someday, one day, they would meet again, back at their home.

But he knew that the likelihood of that was zero, nil, nada. He couldn't escape, he was too weak, just a weak child, and his master wouldn't let him leave, ever.

And he was brought back to his reality with that thought. With a shaky smile, he looked back at his owner. "T-that's all the information I have, sir."

'Sir' was something he only called few by. Normally, when he would address someone, he would say Mr, ma'am or something that would normally be used respectfully and turn it into a mocking name, such as; Mr. Frog Face, as he would call one of the workers, always in a way of scorn, he did love to watch their angered reactions.

But when he called someone 'sir', that meant he felt overpowered and small compared to them. It was a way of informing who-knows-who-or-what that he was afraid. So far the only person he called by that title was his owner, and he was very worthy of being called 'sir', he earned that title easily, because of one thing.

The Celestial Dragon wasn't happy with his answer but kept mostly calm as he ordered the two guards to put his seastone cuffs back on. And so they did, he didn't even try to fight back, it was useless after all. He slumped slightly as his energy was drained from him. he always hated

He always hated seastone. He hated feeling like he was missing a very large part of his body. It was so frustrating when he couldn't work properly because of that stupid energy sucker. If he didn't have his devil fruit than he would have already got used to it and would work normally, but since they would take it off sometimes he would go back and forth, knowing exactly what he was missing.

It was better to live in ignorance, it was easier, for everyone.

"Leave the room." The World Noble ordered the guards. Said guards nodded and left without a word.

It was coming.

He didn't want to.

He was grabbed by his white shirt and dragged into another room. He didn't attempt to get away and let himself be taken away with eyes void of any type of emotion.

He really didn't want to.

But, that wouldn't change anything. His wants and needs were insignificant, no, he didn't have any wants or needs, that wasn't allowed. He bit his lip as he was thrown on the sole bed in the fancy room.

He felt his heart speed up rapidly. He couldn't even process anything that was happening. He was terrified. But he couldn't move, he wasn't allowed to move. His eyes went wide as another flashback entered his mind.

He really wished he was dead.

* * *

 **Flowerbelle:** **He won't... Well, I mean he just won't use the Gomu-Gomu, he can still steal food, but just differently.**

 **Freerunner4427: Yeah, they're going to get out on their own, I plan on doing that really soon.**

 **Caraline Fisher: Thank you, that really means a lot to me, you have no idea how much. I'm so glad you like my story. It's not really that it's getting out of hand, I just never really thought of it as being that great from the beginning... Really, though, thank you, so much, for this review...**

 **ASL addict1: Yeah... Well, you know how it the last part Dave said he lost his train of thought? Yeah? Well, that was actually me, I was the one that lost my train of thought. Thanks for reviewing.**


	21. Little Slave Boy

**Thank you 1andonlyjack, Caraline Fisher, AndurilofTolkien, ScandinavianTrash, elian0578, Whaaa/Wheee, and Flowerbelle for reviewing!**

 **Question of the chapter: What devil fruit do you think is the coolest?**

 **Marco's devil fruit. It's just really awesome.**

* * *

Sabo didn't know the last time he for in trouble, other than right now of course. When he stopped trying to get away he stopped needing punishment. It was nice to not have to go back to the hole, almost refreshing.

But nothing was actually refreshing, not when you have no freedom.

The idea of freedom hurt his head and his heart. But he shouldn't be like that, he wasn't even supposed to think about freedom. He hardly did actually, and he would rather it stay that way.

It was easier just to give up and be a slave with no identity than to hurt as much as he did before.

He thanked common sense for hitting him upside the head and reminding him that he was a slave and not anyone else.

If it weren't for that, he would most likely be dead. Unlike before, he didn't want to die, or more like he would prefer not to die If he did, then so be it.

He was mostly indifferent about it. But it confused him, that when he was trying to get away he wanted to die, but when he gave up he wanted to live. He didn't understand it at all.

But, that didn't matter, he had no reason to care anymore, so he wouldn't.

That being said, he looked around the dark room he was in. Not that there was much to see. It was exactly as he remembered it, a black hole filled with needles. He hardly even felt the pain anymore, well that was what happened when it's all you feel.

He hardly even felt the pain anymore, well that was what happened when it's all you feel. 'Pain' was something that you could get used to, yet, at the same time, it was too painful to forget.

And he was at that exact point of being unable to feel it but know it's there.

Pain was something impossible to forget, pain remembers, and clings to it's victim. Pain knows you, it knows everyone, it knows every feeling every sensation that was ever felt. Pain remembers what you would never if you had the choice.

Although some may say that they wished pain never existed, he thought otherwise. Pain protected them, whether anyone knew or cared about it, it did, it reminded them of things they should and shouldn't do. Pain told him what was dangerous, and to stay away from that thing.

Without it, he would be dead. Pain was the one that told him that his parents were wrong, he was also the one that told that the darkness was bad.

And pain was right, about it all. That was why he hated the darkness, why he was afraid of it.

He assumed he'd been in the hole for about three hours, maybe more. He was really sick of the darkness.

He seemed to be in luck because a few minutes later the hatch to the hole was opened, letting the warm light seep through.

He put on a huge the moment a person was in view and stood up, a few more injuries added to his feet along with the blood dripping down his limbs. A rope ladder was thrown down to him, he took it and climbed up slowly, step-by-step.

The rope rubbed against the open wounds on his feet, almost making him cringe, almost. He wouldn't allow himself to show any form of emotion other than a smile, one he wore all the time.

He would eternally wear that smile, through everything. To his owner, it was an honor to be his slave, he should be happy to be a slave of a World Nobel, anything other that that was unacceptable. He didn't know if all Celestial Dragons thought like that, but he would be surprised if they didn't. All Nobels were the same selfish creatures after all, and all humans were twisted and messed up.

And so, he played the part of a grateful slave, smiling all through his work and punishments. Not all slaves did that, hardly any did actually, and they got in more trouble for it, they may have not realized the reason why, but he did, and he learned from their mistakes.

Smiling was something that became natural for him, though he knew it wasn't real, or maybe it was, he didn't know whether his smile was sincere or not anymore.

Once he made it to the top he was handed a small roll of bandages by the worker there. The bandaged were a small amount, but they did help a lot. He watched silently as the hatch was closed again, this time without him inside the hole.

After a moment, he was led back to his cell. The worker sent an irritated glare his way when they stopped in front of his cell, he, however, widened his smile and thanked the worker for leading him back.

"Freakish little imp." Was all the worker said, permanently disturbed by him.

He walked inside the cage with concession and plopped himself in the back of the room. The worker stared weirdly at him before he locked the door and left. Probably thinking he was strange for just walking straight in.

It was unusual for the slaves to enter the cage of their own free will, even if they had already given up. He, though, smiled and waltzed into it without a second thought, so it was a no-brainer to deduce that the man thought he was strange, maybe even crazy.

Whatever, wasn't anything new for him. Everyone thought he was going insane, they even put him on a suicide watch, not that they cared if he died, they just wanted to clean the body up before it starts smelling. The reason why he was on a suicide watch? Well, that was because he wouldn't eat his food.

They had to force the food in his mouth the last time, god, did he hate that. But it was all just stupid, he did not need to eat, so he wouldn't. That was the only thing that he actually did (or more like didn't do) of his own free will, yet they still didn't like it. They were just stupid. If they tried not eating for a while, then they would understand how gross and, not to mention, nauseating it was just to look at food.

He yawned lying himself on his side so he could sleep, ignoring the wounds that were aching, he could just wrap them up later, he did that before and he was just fine. He used his hands to create a makeshift pillow, curling himself up in a ball to keep what little body heat he had around him.

Really, the cell was just too cold. The floor the walls the ceiling the door, everything was made of metal, cold, icy metal. But he was just too tired to care, he wanted to sleep and had a long day ahead of him.

* * *

 **So, who's** **excited for** **the next chapter? I am. I am REALLY excited for the next chapter! You know why? Yup, that's right. I the next chapter, operation escape part one will finally be started! I can't wait to bring them back together again!**

 **Just one thing** **though... I have the escape pretty much completely planned out, but, what are the brothers going to act seeing each other again!? I feel so clueless! Please give me your opinion on what it would be!**

 **elian0587: Maybe, maybe not.**

 **Whaaa/Wheee: I'm just glad that you didn't stop reading because of that. I guess I'm just kind of paranoid of my story being rejected... anyway, thanks. I'll take your word for it and not change the rating yet, too lazy anyway. Gha! You make me so happy when you add another of my villains to your shit list. Thankyouthankyou!**


	22. Operation

**I don't own one piece**

 **You know what, I give up. I'm not going to update every day anymore. It just doesn't work. I swear the universe is trying (and succeeding) to get in my way of writing. First, I had a concert, then, someone asked me to help them with a project (which was very long), and then I had ANOTHER concert, then my dad went on a trip and I spent a long time at the airport, then a few days later when my dad got back, my mom had a trip and the same thing happened, and through all of that, every day I have to spend seven freakin' hours at school, and another hour just getting home.**

 **Don't expect me update every day anymore. Though I wish I could, It just dosen't work out. I plan to update every week or something like that, might even chose an exact due date, so yeah.**

 **EXCEPT! I will not update any time again this week, maybe not even next week. After all the stuff that happened, I STILL have other things that are happening. Soon, very soon, I am going on Tour for a week. Sory about that.**

 **Anyway, onward to the story!**

* * *

 **ASL age 14**

Luffy looked down at the body laying in front of him with a ghost of a smile. But he really couldn't make himself smile, and there were two reasons why. The first reason being that he didn't smile anymore, it just didn't come natural anymore, and the second, was because he just caused the decease of many people.

Not many would -or could- smile after killing people, unless they were insane, and was definitely not insane, a little crazy, sure, but he still has a sense of right and wrong. He planned to keep it that way too. Of all the things he forgot in his life, he never forgot his morals. A man's morals were the man's way of living, his heart. And that was the one thing that would never be taken from him, not while he was still breathing.

He would be lying of he said he actually cared for those men that just died, however. But, just knowing that he ended a life without a reason to was slightly dishearting for him.

Of course, he would gladly kill if it really came to it. But, theses deaths were a complete accident, one that was never meant to happen, not as soon as it did. He wasn't even in a serious situation, just the normal, being asked about the Dragon's status in life and death, and then most likely getting his punishment again, the usual. The only difference in the day was that he managed to successfully possess someone before his seastone was put back on.

It was the first time he tried in almost a year and he made it.

To be honest, he didn't even know why he tried again. He saw no way that he would actually accomplish anything. Maybe it was just another way to pass the time. Either way, he wasn't expecting any results. It seemed he was wrong.

The whole process of switching bodies was unpleasant, though very intriguing. The feeling of leaving his body was like, say you lived in a large bowl of jello, and then for the first time in your life you left. It was actually cold, almost ice cold, but it was easy to get used to.

Outside of his body was extremely interesting. He had absolutely no feeling, which was logical judging by the fact that he had no nerves whatsoever. It reminded him of being submerged in water, a little strange but something he didn't want to forget the feeling of.

Being a devil fruit user may have had it's perks, but even then it was hardly worth it, his power being taken advantage of was hardly the reason he wished he didn't have it. He was unable to enjoy water to it's fullest without drowning

As a child, he loved just soaking in water, he was always near the harbor, looking out to sea, longing to escape into it. He spent so much time in the ocean that he basically slept there, well, he did end up falling asleep, just, it was usually when he passed out because he couldn't couldn't swim.

There was always someone to save him at those times, either that woman or the red haired guy, neither of which he remembered to the fullest.

Through time, he would remember things, he went back and forth from remembering and forgetting, sometimes remembering a small bit but not anything else. But he never once remembered everything at one moment.

The red haired man was one of which he remembered at one point, and at that point he was a complete wreck, hating himself for forgetting, that caused him to get in trouble for not working, that got him stuck in another 'torture session' until, at the end of the day when he went to write who he was on the wall (he had no writing utensils other than a small rock), he forgot who the man was again.

Something similar happened for the two boys that he knew about, except he only recalled them for about five minutes before they disappeared from his memory too.

He would remember them one day, he hoped.

All three of them, he could tell, were very special to him. The red hair had something to do with his hat. He was almost a father figure for him, probably. He was also the one that saved him so many times too. From animals, bandits, drowning... Mostly drowning.

He was never very good at swimming, but never tried to begin with, and that almost bit him in the ass when he was swimming to save Sab-.

What?

Sabo... Sabo... Sabo.

Wasn't that the name of one of those boys?

Damn it. He didn't have the time to try and remember. Of all the times to for that, it was the one where he couldn't waste time!

He stood up in his newfound body, picking his own, soulless body up in his arms at the same time. He sent one last glance at the scene that was laid out in front of him.

He may have succeed in using his power, but he didn't have any time to celebrate when he did. The cause being that he possessed the very person he hated the most in the world, as far as he knew nobody wanted to be in the body of their worst nightmare.

The very thought of being in _that man's_ body made his stomach churn. All of the pain and suffering that he went through by the Celestial Dragon's hands lit an inferno of hatred in his heart, too large now.

His disgust at possessing that man was short-lived as well when the two guards suddenly started screaming in agony. Not much later, there was a resounding pop and a large burst of red and both men were down on the ground.

Both were in different positions, one having fallen flat on his face only allowing him to see the blood that was around him, the other man had fallen to the side on his back, face and front body fully visible.

His eyes were rolled back in his head, blood dripping from both his eyes and mouth. The most cringing part of the man was his stomach, which was no longer a stomach but a very large open wound. It almost looked like a messy bowl of spaghetti soup, the broth being a sticky crimson liquid that was trickling onto the floor with a small 'plop', and the spaghetti was the entrails that were arranged to be laying halfway outside of the red liquid, complete with the stained scarlet ribs that stuck out of the soup. The man, to say the least, looked like he had been gutted from the inside-out.

The room itself was dripping with blood that was splattered around it's walls and floor, there was probably smile thing that hadn't been drenched with both of the men's vital fluid. There were a few pieces of internal organs and bone that were scattered around as well.

At the scene, he couldn't help but gag, he was lucky enough that he didn't throw up. He did have to put a hand over his mouth to stop from doing so, though.

He had a slight idea why they died, but he could never be too sure with his fucked up brain. And that was because his devil fruit...

He forgot.

Damn it! That was so fucking annoying! What he would give to just remember things that were important. It was an extreme disadvantage for him if he didn't even know the simplest things

But, he had better things to do than stand around and look at dead bodies. He turned and left the room, shutting the door softly behind himself.

He was going to escape, or die trying.

As he strode through the hall he couldn't help but notice that it showed the same scene of carnage that laid behind the walls of the room that he once stood inside.

The spirits of each man there floated above their bodies, starring at it with both confusion and horror. He could tell from one look that none of them knew that they had died.

He had to scoff at the dragon for being such an idiot, he should know that he was able to possess people, yet he took off that

And he and the rest of those bastards would and were suffering the consequences that were brought down on them.

Soon, he found himself outside of the castle-for-a-house gazing at the dark night sky.

There wasn't a star that could be seen at all. The bright moon's light being concealed by the misty clouds, save for a dim glow.

He loved the night sky. Both with and without stars, it was a bewitching view. It made up and elegant whirl of clouds and shining stars of in the distance. Every shimmering color pricked at the hearts of every living being. The cotton crowd of mist and the chilled orb that gleamed generously gave a calm reassurance.

Though, the night he stood in had none of that. Hardly a light seen from up there, the only thing that remained was the abyss of darkness that loomed behind everything that was not there that moment.

Perfect for a night of bloodshed such as this one.

He continued walking, serving every corner for the exit. A few more minutes and would have made it with no problems.

But, not much later, he ran into one. The body of the Celestial Dragon that he resided in stopped moving as well as usual. Like a rusted machine.

It was then that he noticed the blood dripping from his eyes. The body was dying. Without it's proper host it would not work like it should.

Shit. He needed more time so he could get out without starting some kind of fight.

There was a frightened voice it the back of his head that screamed that he might not make it out. He had to remind himself continually that there was a high chance of success due to the what happened back inside. Most that worked there were taking care of the dead and figuring out what happened. That was the reason he hadn't had to deal with anyone already. Bit, if he didn't hurry he would. It wouldn't be that long until they started searching for the Dragon.

When he reached the wall surrounding the building -with much effort- he could no longer move anything. The only thing he could do was a small twitch of an arm. Just like that, he fell to the ground, face first. The gravel under him broke the glass bowl around his face, leaving a bare face at the mercy of broken glass and sharp rocks.

His rightful body was dropped next to him, suffering minor cuts, unlike the one he was in.

And he was dying. Damn it, he was dying. The pain he was feeling was real. He wasn't leaving the body, he didn't know how. If the body died there, there was no telling if he was going to die too. In his mind, there was a very high chance of him dying. It was a logical answer. The body dies, the spirit inside does as well.

He didn't want to die until he saw the ocean one last time. Why right before he got over the wall?

He felt a small pop in his abdomen, followed by a fit of agony. He let out a small yelp at the feeling.

He was dying. He had to accept that. He was as good as dead.

He laid there unable even see the wall that he was right in front of, waiting for his last moments.

Ten, fifteen minutes passed and only more torment from bursting insides, but the body didn't die. He waited and waited, but all he got was more pain. Eventual it got to the point where he didn't think it could get any worse. But another pop proved him wrong.

He didn't care anymore, he wanted out all to end.

With all the energy he could summon, he managed to move his arm just enough to grab one of the larger pieces of glass. Then, came the hardest part.

He looked at the glass, shaking every so slightly, then moved it towards his head. He stopped a few inches away, shaking brutally now.

Just a little more...

Just a little...

It wasn't anything to be afraid of.

Just a little more.

And he thrust the pointed part straight into his head. Blood leaked out of the large cut, but it wasn't enough yet. He twisted the glass in his head, there was an almost inaudible cracking that came from his skull as he for so. A blood curling scream sounded out in the silent night. And finally, his world blacked out, leaving a corpse on the ground.

* * *

Luffy opened his eyes tiredly, taking in his surroundings. He looked at the carcass of the Celestial Dragon that laid beside him, them back at himself.

He didn't die...

For a moment he would have thought he had died, however, the fact that he was feeling anything threw that option out before he thought it.

He heaved a long depressed sigh, and closed his eyes, letting himself rest for the moment.

He never thought by the nonexistent gods that he would ever have to _kill_ himself. It may not have been him exactly, but it was his soul that resided within the body, and he felt the same fear anyone would that was going to kill themselves.

The only thing that gave him the resolve to do so was that he didn't want any more of anything. If he had not felt the want to see the water before death, he wouldn't have hesitated.

"I think there's something over there!"

He jumped up. They must have started looking for them.

No time to think! He sped that last little ways to the wall, and put his hands and one for on it, finding the best crevasses for footing. Once found he pulled himself up, climbing as fast as possible to the top, and when reached, he leaped off the edge, ignoring a shot of pain, and ran off.

* * *

 **This chapter was actually very fun to write. I mean, how could you not have fun writing it. It was SO fun! I can't even explain!**

 **So whaddya think? Was it good? I hope so.**

 **That's the begining. You know whose going next? Ace, that's who. How do you think he's going to escape? Because, although I have it all planed out, had, I forgot some of it... So... A few ideas please! (Yeah... I'm turning into Luffy, forgetting all this stuff...)** **I should really start writing the things I'm doing down...**


End file.
